Race Report – Page 2 – A Constant State of Hunger

RR #17: Run for a Reason 5K

I suppose we could call this one a Throwback Thursday, couldn’t we? Because this happened almost exactly one year ago, though I never did a race report. I’m a bit out of practice, but here goes nothing.

~~The morning dawned bright and muggy~~.

Nope – too much.

Each year for over 10 years now, my wife’s parents rent a beach house at some very nice location for their vacation. What has always happened is that they would rent a house big enough for all of their kids and their families, and then they would invite everyone. Come, don’t come, that doesn’t matter – you are all invited. July of 2015 will be the 8th year I’ve been in the family for this, and it was a long-established tradition before I got there.

They started in the Sandbridge area of Virginia Beach, Virginia. That’s where my first year was. But my first year in Sandbridge was the family’s last year in Sandbridge – the drive from northern New Jersey was proving too much. So we gradually began migrating up the coast. The following year was in Cape May, New Jersey. The year after that began a two-year run in Mantaloking, New Jersey. And then there were three years in Southampton, New York, on Long Island.

By this point in the summer of 2014, I was basically not running anymore but had not yet given up on the idea of me running. And one of my sisters-in-law is very athletic and saw this 5k and sent out a blast to the family – I want to run it, lets have a bunch of us do that. So I signed up.

There was some confusion at the bib pickup, and I knew there would be – when I signed up online, there was never an option to pay. So when I showed up at the race, they said “You’re the guy that didn’t pay!” But, because I was expecting that I was prepared with cash and we didn’t have a problem. It turned out that the only family members that actually were running the race were the aforementioned sister-in-law, my niece who is in high school and runs cross country, and me. I made it clear very early on that my feelings would not be hurt when they left me in the dust.

The 2014 Southampton Family Vacation 5K team

We got there pretty early, so we spent 30 minutes warming up by jogging around the little park where the start line was. And then we lined up and were off. We ran down about 200 yards, turned left and climbed the only real hill of the race, and then ran a big square in a neighborhood area full of $1million+ homes in the Hamptons. We then came back down the hill and headed back to the finish line.

So, yeah, I was unprepared for this race. Things went OK until I got maybe a quarter mile past the top of the hill, and then my right shin seized up and that was it. I run / walked the rest of the way in pain, wondering what in the hell my shins had against me.

My wife’s family is the cheering type, and since there were three of us running, they came out and sat near the finish line. As I come through, this is what I’m greeted with:

Seriously – that’s worth your time. That’s my son on the left – I love it when he gets to come out and see me doing this.

My time was horrible – 38 minutes and 23 seconds. That is slower than my first ever 5K. I was so discouraged that this performance basically ended my running for the next six months – my last run was on August 3rd, with a little attempt in February 2015 and then a couple of fits and starts in May / June.

Notes:

– Hard to say it more strongly – that really really sucked.

– Having a cheering section like that, though, is amazing. Seriously, amazing.

– Running in the Hamptons is a bit surreal, if you want to know the truth. The houses we were running past were protected by huge hedges, so mostly we were running through a big green tunnel. And then when you did see a house, it was a freaking mansion. Weird.

– My sister-in-law and my niece both did run away from me – they had a decent race. I was happy for them, even if I was disappointed in myself.

– I don’t remember much about the SWAG. The t-shirt was a cotton job that my wife wears all of the time around the house. And the bib was a unique one that said Southampton Rotary Club, which I love. The spread at the end was bagels and bananas, and there were plenty left when a back-of-the-packer like me made it to the table.

– That race was the 17th and last race of my streak. In January of 2013, I weighed about 315 pounds. In March of 2014, I ran my first 5K, and then ran at least one event in 16 straight months, losing 50 pounds in the process and feeling amazing. During the streak I ran a Ragnar, two half marathons, a 15k, two 10ks, a 5-miler, ten 5ks, and a 4k. I ran events in 6 states and the District of Columbia. I ran through three pairs of shoes, and just basically felt like a million damn dollars.

– I want that back. I want it back badly.

– Next Race: The Great American Bacon Race, 5K, Tampa, Florida, October 3rd, 2015

My son and his grandfather. This - this right here - is what this is all about — My son and his grandfather. This – this right here – is what this is all about

RR #16: Branford Road Race

The Branford 5m Road Race was recommended to me by a poster over on the Motley Fool. The recommendation was basically that this is a relatively large race that they’ve been doing for a long time and has great support. The race is also part of a festival that is done on the green in Branford every Father’s Day. When I looked it up, and saw that the race itself didn’t start until 10:15 – which means late enough that my family could come – I signed up.

So … it turns out that this Branford Festival is a thing. A legit thing. At 9am when we got there we were very surprised at how difficult parking in the area was … and then when we got to the green there were people and tents and just activity all over the place. We didn’t explore a whole lot at first because I was prepping for the race, but it turned out that on the next block over there were rides and carnival games and food vendors and car shows and just all kinds of stuff. And after the race was over we hung around and had a blast. Overall, in spite of what I’m going to say in a minute, this was basically the best Father’s Day ever.

I like starting line pictures like this... — I like starting line pictures like this…

Not that I was as prepared as I thought I was for the race.

I went in optimistic – my mileage has been slowly increasing, and I’ve been feeling pretty good. My intention was to try and keep it under control in the first mile and then see what was left in the tank at around mile 4 and try and finish strong. My stated goal was 55 minutes, so 11 minute miles, which I expected to be very achievable. My backup goal was an hour flat, which I almost didn’t even think bore mentioning. And if I’d gotten to mile 4 at 44 minutes or less I was going to try and uncork it and see what I could do in the last mile. I understood the course to be basically downhill or flat through the 3^rd mile, mostly uphill in the 4^th mile, and then flat to slightly uphill into the finish.

Confusion at the start – there was a 2-mile walking course that was, against all logic, set to start 5 minutes before the regular 5 mile race. The idea was that after about a quarter of a mile they took a turn we didn’t, so they cleared the course. However, we all were lined up in the same starting chute, so nobody was sure if they were in the right place. When they let the walkers go there was a collective “oh shit!” from the walkers lined up at the back, and it took them awhile to push through. Once they cleared the course, though, we had a national anthem and were off – just under 2,000 runners.

Mile 1 came in at 10:39, which was fast-ish for what I wanted to do but not too awful bad. Mile 2 was 11:19, which means my first 2 miles were right on. At about mile 2.5 we came to the bottom of the first hill and I just blew up.

Just blew right the hell up.

Seriously, I have no idea what happened other than I’m just completely out of shape. Mile 3 was 12:46, Mile 4 was 13:15 (!), and Mile 5 was 12:42. My shins tightened up, my right foot felt numb on the outside … which was weird. And I just couldn’t summon the energy. The hills went on longer than I expected – from mile 2.5 until basically mile 4.5 – but that’s no excuses … I just sucked. My finish time was 1:00.46. I missed my really easy goal by 46 seconds and my go-get goal by over 5 minutes.

I don’t usually do this – I like to stay positive – but I also got a jolt when I got the pictures after. The pictures are standard, and the photographers were all in the last couple of miles of the course. But one in particular stood out:

So, this is pretty horrifying. I’ve only gained back between 5 and 10 pounds of the weight I’ve lost, but my self body image is no longer this. I don’t think I’m svelte, by any means … but I thought I’d moved past mortifying pictures, or at least farther past them than this.

What I have to face is that I’m still a fat guy.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not that down on myself. Only a little. I think I probably needed this. I’ve been going around lately acting like I’m not a fat guy. I’ve been eating whatever I wanted, blowing off runs fairly regularly, just pretty much behaving as though I’m a regular high-metabolism skinny athletic guy. And I’m not. I’m just not.

For proof, see that picture up there.

Anyway – I didn’t have a great race, and I don’t feel great about where I’m at after it. But I’m not done, by any stretch. And I’m not going to feel sorry for myself. Instead, I think I’ll run. See you out there.

This one is better. They caught me on the up... — This one is better. They caught me on the up…

Notes:

– Seriously, though, with all of that – what a great day. We had so much fun at the festival, and my wife and I each independently came to the conclusion that we could live in Branford, Connecticut. That’s a successful race by any standard.

– Speaking of successful races – they were quick to claim the title of best 5 mile race in the nation. I heard that several times. Have to give it to them, though – they go out and try to earn that. There were bands on the course, many water stops, and there was plenty of support at the end. Overall a very well run race.

– For the last quarter of a mile or so they had the crowd behind barriers, and you had to round a corner just before the finish line. It felt like coming into a legitimate chute and running for a big crowd. Even the finish was cool.

– Many many strollers. One guy cut me off and nearly ran over the person running next to me. And several others were being pretty rough as they ran through the crowds. Just about the time I got frustrated with it, I was tapped on the shoulder and warned about one coming – but they were pushing an adult, just like the Hoyts. I happily got out of their way – those guys are amazing.

– They had an official 2.5m split, which is a weird distance. I guess I get 2 PRs out of this, though…

– One big acknowledgement of the William & Mary shirt I was wearing – lady practically knocked her husband down getting his attention to show him the shirt.

– Not really any SWAG – an ink pen, several coupons and flyers for local businesses, and the shirt. The shirt is the exact same brand and color as the shirt that I got at the Ridgewood 5K last month, just a different logo. This is a good thing – it is a nice shirt. I did, however, get a pint glass at the festival for $5 … and the festival made up for everything.

– That was June, which is 16 straight months running a race. This wasn’t my best, but it counts, and I’m proud I did it.

– Next race: NYCRUNS Shore Road Summer Mini-Series #2, 5K, Brooklyn, New York

Best.Father's.Day.EVER — Best.Father’s.Day.EVER

RR# 15 – Fred D’elia Ridgewood Run 5K

This was my exactly my fourth run in the month of May. Count ‘em – four. When I took myself out of the Superhero Half Marathon because of an injury, my thoughts immediately turned to the problem of my streak. The half was on May 18^th, and because of the injury that weekend was out. But that only left two other weekends to get a race in – one of those was Memorial Day weekend, and the other had to have a race on Saturday because Sunday is the 1^st of June.

I began to believe that the streak was going to come to an end. I sat on that thought for a few days. And then my stubbornness rose up, screaming, and basically asked me what the hell I was doing. After 14 months of streaking … and with the next 5 months already booked up and registered for … and with the foot / ankle feeling much, much better … what the hell are you doing?

So I found this race and registered. I had very few expectations – I only knew it was about 30 minutes from the house and this would be the 39^th year, so there would be some organization.

The Ridgewood Run (I have no idea who Fred D’elia is) has been run by the New Jersey Masters running club on Memorial Day weekend for longer than I’ve been alive. The day consists of multiple separate races – a 10K wheelchair event, a regular 10K, the 5K, an elite mile, a masters mile, and a one mile “fun run”. There is prize money, and the mile requires a qualifying time for entry. Interestingly, they run the races non-concurrently – the 10K goes first, and then the 5K doesn’t start until that one is completely done, then the mile, then the fun run. That meant that my race wasn’t scheduled to start until 10:15am – which means the wife and child could come.

We got a perfect day, if a little hot. We got there around 9:15, and by that time people were already crossing the finish line from the 10K. Because of the number of people running (nearly 1,000 for the 10K, over 1,700 for the 5K), there actually was a little expo of sorts, with different local businesses set up at tables. They had a DJ / MC presiding over things at the finish line, which is always nice. And overall this felt like a real event.

I had no intention to go try and PR – I knew better. But I didn’t just want to go walk it, either. So I took a couple of warmup laps around a nearby baseball field and then went and lined up. There were no pacing signs or corrals, so the start line was a total free-for-all, and it felt that way for the first half mile. But eventually things lined out and got comfortable. The course itself was through a very nice residential neighborhood, and there was quite a lot of support. There were probably four water stops (in a 5K!) and lots of people sitting out in their yards. Many people had a water hose spraying the street, and in at least one place somebody had attached a sprinkler to a ladder so they didn’t have to stand there with the hose.

Predictably, I started way too fast. My first mile came in at 9.46, which was a PR pace and totally unsustainable. I felt OK, but as an academic exercise I knew that I was going to pay for that. Not far into the second mile there was a little hill that forced me to slow down, and I maintained a more reasonable (for this race, anyway) 11.02 pace for the second mile. The third mile brought a walk break over a decent sized hill, which slowed me down to 11.18 for that one – and then a downhill finish at 10:21 for the last .1 mile. The clock said 33.27 when I crossed the finish line, and my chip time came in at 32.59, for a 10.39 pace, or about 2 ½ minutes off of my PR.

Given my general lack of preparation, I’m pretty happy with that. The day was a big success – I extended the streak, felt good about the performance, and my family had a good time. Win, win, win. Now back to getting after it and preparing for the next race. This time won’t be close to acceptable at my next 5K

Can't figure out how to stop holding my arms tight like that. — Can’t figure out how to stop holding my arms tight like that.

Notes:

– Prize money brings fast runners – the guy that won the 5K did it at 4.40 pace, and the winner of the mile did it at 4.02 pace. Seriously blazing.

– Lots of confusion in the first mile, at water stops, and past the finish line. People were weaving and darting unexpectedly, and twice I nearly ran over someone who just dead stopped in front of me. Much of this was kids – there were several kids in the 8-12 age range. I don’t get at frustrated with all of this as I used to, but it would be good if folks were a touch more considerate.

– Speaking of kids – I’ve noticed a pattern whenever I run races with kids. They do not appear to be able to hold a pace. They run really fast, and then stop and walk, rinse, repeat. It can be disconcerting near the end of a race like this to get blown by, but then in less than half a mile you wind up going back by the walker.

– These things are fun when they feel like big events like this. In particular, having a DJ / MC is great – the announcements are clear and timely and there is just no question what is going on. Another cool thing is that they had a “History” tent, with pictures and t-shirts from many of the past runnings of this race. That definitely lends credibility to the proceedings.

– The wife and boy were set up about a quarter mile from the end of the race. Having a cheering section is great … and some random dude standing next to them was yelling my name, too. Awesome.

– No real swag – I think the intent was that you get stuff at the tents. The shirt was a nice blue technical shirt, and the bib was unique to this race – which you know I think makes a big difference.

– May is in the books, and the streak is intact! That was 15 straight months with races. I’m registered for races in each month through October (2 in October), so barring problems we get to 20 at least. I’ve also targeted a couple of races for November and December. We’re streaking…

– Next race: Branford Road Race 5M, Branford, Connecticut, June 15^th.

They missed my fist pound... — They missed my fist pound…

RR# 14 – JFK Runway Run

You are not having déjà vu, and there is nothing wrong with your television set. This morning, for the first time in my running “career”, I ran in a race that I had competed in previously. Last year’s JFK Runway Run was my second ever race, and I was coming off of an ankle injury that I’d sustained three weeks earlier at my first race. All of which means that it was slow. This year I was, barring injury or something weird, a lock to better last year’s time by several minutes, be competitive as hell with my PR, and hopefully even take a shot at a 30 minute race.

This is a rather unique race because of the setting – they actually shut down one of the runways at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens for the runners. Both times I’ve run it we ran from the same place: you run out about 200 yards and then hang a right, run for a bit less than a mile and a half in a straight line, and then turn around and run back. There is no scenery at all (it is a huge airfield), though airplanes are landing over your head throughout the race, which is pretty neat. The course is also perfectly flat and generally pretty windy – though this year the wind was not as bad as last year.

Because of the perfect flatness I decided to push hard and see what I could do, and that strategy worked out. Other than the congestion in the first couple hundred yards my pace was remarkably consistent throughout the race – +/- 10 seconds at any given time. This is a course where you can hit a groove and just go with it, and that’s what I was able to do. My finishing time was 30:39, which is a 9:53/mile pace and a new 5K PR for me by 36 seconds! For awhile I had hopes that I could seriously threaten an under-30 finish, but that was not meant to be … which does not do one thing to take away from my excitement at a new PR.

I consider this to be the first race of the season (as opposed to the last race of winter, which is what the USA Half was), and I’m ecstatic with how things have started. I currently don’t have another 5K on my calendar for the year, so this PR will stand for several months – and I’m good with that. The next time I take a crack at the distance it will be under-30 minutes or bust.

Start / Finish Line - I actually took this last year, but the setting was identical — Start / Finish Line – I actually took this last year, but the setting was identical

Notes:

– As cool as the setting is for this race, the logistics are a bit inconvenient. They obviously can’t let people just randomly show up out on the airport runway, so all of the race infrastructure (check-in, prize stage, etc.) happens at an office building and they bus the runners out to the runway. In order to make sure you get out there with plenty of time, though, you wind up killing quite a lot of time out on the runway with no shade or windbreak. And this also discourages spectators, so the wife and child didn’t make the trip. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t run it if you’re in the area … just know that there are challenges.

– The other thing about this one is that the organizers are kind of at the mercy of the TSA and Port Authority police. The runners actually wait behind a barricade a few yards from the starting line, and then when we’re released we go line up under our pacing signs. We wound up starting nearly a half-an-hour late, but I’m convinced by the way they acted that this had nothing to do with the organizers. That stunk – it was chilly and windy –but comes with the territory for the cool setting.

– This race is an absolutely fascinating slice of humanity. There were all ages from little kids up to elderly runners. There was an ethnic mix that would actually be hard to put together outside of Queens. Several teams run this race – a local martial arts dojo, corporate teams for airlines at the airport, that kind of thing – and that brings with it a bunch of people that clearly don’t run many races. Many people there, in fact, weren’t there to run at all but to walk the course and get a look at the airport. Several people were wearing jeans, and one walker was wearing a shirt that said “Airplane Spotting is NOT a Crime”, which gives away his motivation, doesn’t it? There were half a dozen guys that ran the race at a sub-6:00 pace and many people that took well over an hour. There was a guy in a wheelchair and two girls in full-on ballet tights with tutus. Just a fascinating group of people.

Somebody tell these two girls they're officially blogged... — Somebody tell these two girls they’re officially blogged…

– All of that, of course, means that many people had NO idea how to line up even though there were pace signs. When I line up at the back of 9:00 group and spend the first half mile passing people that are walking it takes all I can do to not scream “why did you line up so far up in line?!?!”

– One of my favorite things in these out-and-back (or loop) courses is watching to see when I see the leaders. In this case the leader came by me at just past the mile mark for me and just past the 2 mile mark for him – just over 11 minutes into the race. This same guy won the race last year, too, and he absolutely crushed it. I couldn’t even see second place when he came through and he wound up winning by nearly a minute and a half. Just impressive to watch.

– Basic swag – a cotton t-shirt, a bib that is unique to this race (which I love) and that’s about it. There was water right past the finish lines, and bananas when we got off the buses back at race central. They also had a raffle, which I didn’t stay for. Photographers were at the start/finish line, and I’ll add pictures when they get them posted.

– That was April’s race, which means my streak of running at least one race or event per month has now been extended to 14 months. I am registered for races in May & June, have targeted races in July, August, & September, and am registered for two events in October. That would get me to 20.

– Next race: Superhero Half Marathon, Morris Township, New Jersey, May 18^th. I’m debating buying Batman stuff – we’ll see.

Random people as we approach the finish line... — Random people as we approach the finish line…

RR#13 – Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Half Marathon

So … I was a bit nervous about this race.

My original registration for Rock ‘n’ Roll USA was for the full marathon – it was to be my first. And then I learned why people that live as far north as I do don’t often register for early spring marathons. As I got further and further behind in my training, I realized that I was not going to make it … and so I switched over to the half and took a deep breath. And my training was not really great even then – just too many ~~distractions~~ excuses and such. And I even entertained the thought of backing out altogether.

And then I realized that was crazy talk. Even if I had to walk it, I could do it – and even with relatively poor training I’m in better shape than I was last September when I did the half in 90 degree heat. So I committed to making it happen, and I am so glad I did. This was an awesome race.

Got to the expo on Friday afternoon and was confronted with a line out the door. That wasn’t the Rock ‘n’ Roll folks, though – because the expo was in the DC Armory we were being screened by security. That went quickly enough, and then I had no wait at all to pick up my number and get to the shopping. My wife and 2-year old were with me on this one, so that got interesting – and a great big THANK YOU to the folks at the Williamsburg Marathon booth that gave him the Chik-Fil-A stuffed cow. Anything to distract him at that point.

We were staying at my brother-in-law’s house in Alexandria, which is on the metro. My morning nutrition was not optimal: granola bars at their house and a banana at the race. Not enough, but that turned out OK. WMATA opened up the metro two hours early, and getting to the start could not have been easier. It was so easy that I’d left myself entirely too much time and wound up needing to kill an hour.

Starting Line - I'm way back in Corral 27 — Starting Line – I’m way back in Corral 27

This was easily the biggest race I’ve ever been a part of – I was in corral 27 and there were an awful lot of people behind me. If you’ve ever done a Rock ‘n’ Roll race you know there is a ton of energy at the start line, which is nice … because it took 45 minutes for me to get to the start line. And we were off.

The course itself was absolutely great, and we got nearly perfect weather. We started on Constitution Avenue – my corral was directly in front of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History – and headed down the mall. In the first mile we ran past the Washington Monument and the White House headed toward the Lincoln Memorial. Mile 2 was an out-and-back on the Arlington Memorial Bridge with a gorgeous view of the cemetery. Miles 3-6 were up the Potomac Parkway, so relatively quiet but very pretty.

Mile 7 had The Hill, which, um, sucked. Once we topped out on the hill we ran near the National Zoo and then were in the Adams Morgan neighborhood. From there on, the course was distinctly urban with GREAT crowd support. That area is full of row houses and people were out on their stoops and porches and lining the streets cheering and holding signs. The Rock ‘n’ Roll folks always have bands along the course … roughly one per mile. I bring that up here because the absolute best was the Batala Drummers All-Women Percussion Band. They were set up at the bottom of a big hill just as we turned to run through Howard University. Hard to describe how very cool this was…

Another very interesting thing happened at roughly mile 9, just before we turned south on North Capitol Street and had that gorgeous view of the US Capitol. I’ve been in races where somebody random sets up a table with “Free Beer!” or “Mixed Drinks!” These are awesome, but not for me. And so I almost ran by one of these tables until I realized the sign continued. “Free Beer” was followed by “Free Brisket!” And, yeah, I couldn’t not check that out. And while a big ol’ slice of brisket is non-traditional mid-race fuel … it was incredible.

Incredible.

After we turned off of Capitol Street we wound through different neighborhoods for the last 4 miles or so for a finish at RFK Stadium. The marathoners and half-marathoners split up just before mile 13, and the thought at that time of taking for another 13 miles made me cringe. That’s going to happen, but not soon.

My family missed my finish by about 10 minutes, which legitimately sucked, but I was very very happy with my race. My pacing was remarkably consistent – the fastest mile was mile 4 at 11.15 (because that’s always my best mile) and my slowest was mile 7 at 12.37 (because hill – 271 feet of elevation gain in that mile). My overall time was 2:36.0, for a total pace of 11.54 / mile. That takes nearly 19 (19!) minutes off of my previous half marathon time. I also set PRs with my official 10K (1:13.04, nearly a 2 minute PR) and 10 mile (1:58.34) splits.

Here’s where I think I am – this is the race I had expected hoped to run in Virginia Beach last summer. The conditions forced a much different race, though. But I’ve been able to maintain that level of fitness through this winter even though I don’t feel great about my training. The huge PR is a great validation of where I’ve gotten to – and I am feeling very motivated to blow right past here. I’ve got another half scheduled for late spring, and I hope to blow that one away.

In the meantime – I LOVED this race. The Rock ‘n’ Roll people did a great job with everything as far as I could tell. And the overall vibe from the competitors, spectators, and city was just some of the most fun I’ve had running. Thanks for everybody that worked on it and came out to cheer – you made it an awesome experience!

Approaching the finish line... — Approaching the finish line…

Notes:

– Apparently the Rock ‘n’ Roll folks had some troubles at this race last year, especially with port-a-potties and the gear check. They made a lot of noise about listening to the complaints and changing things, and by all accounts they got it right. While there were lines at the port-a-potties throughout the race, the start and finish seemed to be fine. And I didn’t check a gear bag because my family was coming, but the feedback is that they fixed that, too. Kudos to the organizers for making it happen.

– Speaking of port-a-potties, I had to make a pit stop just past mile 9 and lets just say that glad I’m a guy and move on.

– I struggled with my fuel belt, strictly due to lack of practice. I started the race with it on my back, but the way it bounced and pushed on my shorts was not comfortable. So I turned it around like you see in the pictures up there … which blocked the pockets I usually keep my iPod in in that pullover. So I wound up carrying the iPod in my hand for most of the race. The two times I tried to put it in the pocket interfered with the water bottle in the belt and made it fall out. So … in the hand it was. That’s what I get for using something I hadn’t used in 6 weeks.

– Favorite signs:

Series: “Harder Faster Stronger Better” followed by “That’s What She Said”
“Where Are All You Guys Going?”
“Its Not a Hill, Its a Beastmaker”
“Free High Fives” followed by two little kids, probably 6ish and 4ish

– For whatever reason the nutrition didn’t hurt me. I started fueling with gel relatively early and I think that helped.

– It turns out that I’ve become a bit of a snob about walkers. Not that I mind the walking, mind you – I do some of that myself. But, for the love of Joe Pesci, when you are going to stop and walk move over to the side of the crowd. Especially in the first mile or two when there is still a lot of congestion.

– At around mile 25 for them the full marathoners came around the back of the parking lot where the finish line festival was. My son and I walked over to cheer them on for a bit. I’ve just got a ton of respect for those folks … they’d been running for 4 hours or so and just looked beaten down. I can only imagine how they felt when they finished. I want to feel that some day.

– Not really any SWAG at this one, which is interesting. The shirt is a Brooks technical that I like but caused some bitching because it is black. People will complain about anything, I guess. We got that and our gear bag and a couple of random little medical things (basically icy hot) … but that’s OK. I did pick up my pint glass and 13.1 sticker, and then we did a little damage at the expo. I intended to get my medal engraved like I did at Virginia Beach, but the wait was too long. That does not take away from the medal, though, which is pretty awesome.

– That was March’s race, which means I’ve now run in a race or an event in 13 consecutive months. I am registered for a 5K in April, another half marathon in May, and a 5-miler (automatic PR!) in June. Targeting an 8-miler (another automatic PR!) in July and a 10K in August. And then Ragnar Tennessee in October. So when I get September figured out that gets me to 20 months. Who’d have thunk it?

– Next Race: JFK Runway Run, Queens, New York City, NY … April 6th

Another medal on the wall... — Another medal on the wall…

RR #12: Freezer Fives 5K

Turns out, February is similar to January in terms of trying to find races … they’re relatively few and far between. And since my planned race was cancelled, there was a bit of a scramble hoping to find something that worked. Fortunately, the Taconic Road Runners have two (count ‘em!) options – a 5K and a 5-miler that they use to kick off their season and call the Freezer Fives. The races are held two weeks apart in FDR State Park in New York … I chose the 5K on 2/2.

So … this hasn’t exactly been the strongest lead-up to a race I’ve ever had. This winter running thing, frankly, is kicking my ass and I’m starting to get frustrated about it. But, given that January was such a slow month, I decided that my race strategy this time was to not really have a strategy – just go have a good time with it.

Until.

A couple of things about this race were different than recent races and also the last month in general. First, because I guess they are worried about the weather, the race didn’t start until 10am. And second, the high on Sunday was in the upper 40s and sunshiney. Seriously perfect weather for a 5K. And these two things led directly to something else unique about this one – my wife and son got to come with me, for the first time since my very first race last March. Having a cheering section is … awesome.

The start line was down the road a bit from the finish line, and that wasn’t all that clearly communicated – after I got my number and shirt I just kind of followed the herd and got there. There were no formalities at all – no national anthem, no “5-4-3-2-1”, nothing. One minute we were standing there, and the next thing I knew all the people in front of me were running. And so off we went.

The only picture of me taken during the race... — The only picture of me taken during the race…

I decided to go ahead and run it hard – no expectations for a PR, but given the conditions it felt good. The course was another loop with an out-and-back spur, and because it was within the state park we had the whole road with no traffic anywhere … making for a quite pleasant run. The little out-and-back spur started within the first mile, and featured a big hill. Up and over, get to the bottom, turn around, and then up and over again. Yay. I met the leaders on their way back just about the time I topped out and started back down, which was a harbinger of things to come.

So, after that up-down-up-down, there was a short straight stretch into another decent hill that looped around to yet another decent hill … and then past the start line with half a mile or so to go. My winter training struggles bit me on the ass on that last hill, and (spoiler alert!) kept me from a PR … but I’m not broken up about it. Overall, this course certainly lived up to its billing as “challenging”.

My official finish time was 31:31, which is only 16 seconds off of my PR. I’m thrilled with that time given all of the apparent weaknesses coming into this race. One of these days I want to progress to being in the top half of finishers, but this one was only good enough for 218 / 284. I’ll absolutely take it.

Notes:

– After all of that polar vortex crap last week, we seriously got a perfect day – warm and clear and perfect. And then got a foot of snow overnight that night, and two days later another 6 inches plus sleet and freezing rain. Winter training is killing me, and I’m officially fielding job offers for warmer climates.

– Having the family there makes it better, officially. Because this was just a big park, my son was way distracted … and apparently wasn’t too happy about his Mommy making him stop long enough to cheer as I ran by. But it was great, all the same. Hopefully they’ll get to come to a few more of these this year than they did last year.

– This is my first Taconic Road Runners race, which is something I’ve been looking forward to. To the extent that there is a running club around here that would be my local club, the TRRC is it. And I was overall impressed – everybody was friendly, bib pickup seemed efficient, and it really was a very good small race. No chip timing, which is fine, but in general a very well run race.

– Speaking of timing, an interesting thing happened in terms of my official time. When I crossed the finish line, the clock said 31:28, and my watch said 31:12 … so I thought I actually had a shot at the PR depending on how much time they gave me to get across the start line. I’m not sure how it works that they added 3 seconds to the time I saw … but whatever. I’m certainly not bitching, just find this curious.

– Another thing about the TRR – they keep costs way down. $18 for me, a non-member, and I think the member cost was $12. Of course, for that you don’t really get swag – just the t-shirt. It is, however, a nice long-sleeved cotton shirt with a neat graphic and no sponsor logos, so pretty cool. Also, the bibs are TRR bibs – they say Taconic Road Runners and have the orange and green color scheme. Bibs like that are just so dramatically better than the generic RoadID ones.

– So, that was February’s race, which brings the streak to 12 months. Last March I ran my first ever 5K. Since then, I’ve run an official event each month for a full year. I find that almost hard to believe. And I’m registered for March, April, May, and June races … plus the Ragnar in October.

– Next race: Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Half Marathon, Washington, DC, March 15^th

RR #11 – New Year’s Day Frosty 5K

One thing that became abundantly clear as I started looking at January races is that, in the Northeast, New Year’s Day runs were going to be by far the best bet. If I had been unable to go today, it would have been 50/50 and pick ‘em whether I could have found a race to run this month.

Guilford, Connecticut, sits on the I-95 corridor just east of New Haven and right on the Long Island Sound. I knew nothing about it when I registered – I picked this race because it is relatively large for one of these (probably close to 1,000 runners, including the kids fun run) and they’ve been doing it for years. So at least they’d have their ducks in a row. As it turns out, Guilford is an absolutely beautiful town. We started and finished at the large town green, which is surrounded by old colonial style buildings filled with shops, restaurants, etc. Everything about this town was charming as hell – Guilford, Connecticut, acquitted itself quite well to anybody that drove in for the race.

Guilford Town Green - obviously not today, also not my picture — Guilford Town Green – obviously not today, also not my picture

This was my first 5K since the PR at the Celtic Classic in September … and though I don’t feel as strong now as I did then, I hoped that I might have a reasonable shot at a PR here, and, with some luck, at the 30 minute barrier. The temperatures were predictably cold – 25 degrees or so at the start – but they did start it at 11am, so it could have been much worse. The course itself was a big loop with a little out-and-back spur down to the water. Things were mostly flat – the one “hill” was a bridge over train tracks, and there was a 40 – 50 foot climb in the last mile. Nothing major.

Mass confusion at the start – the megaphone wasn’t working, so nobody could hear anything. Somebody sang the national anthem, but unless you were in the first third or so of runners you couldn’t hear it – most didn’t even know it was going on. Then the guy raised his hand, counted down, dropped his hand, and we were off.

My intention was to set off comfortably too fast (if that makes any sense) and work to hold it. And initially that plan worked great. My first mile came in at 9.39, which is the fastest official mile I’ve run since high school. Which was great. The second mile came in at 10.07 – which was less great – and it was at about half-way when the wheels came off.

For the bulk of my running “career,” my shins have been a problem. Most of this is weight and pronation control related, but I haven’t always known that. Years ago, in my first little attempt at running, shin splints forced me to stop. And when I started this time the most difficult part was managing through the initial pain in my shins. However, after that first 6 to 8 weeks, things eased up and the only time I’ve had a problem is if I’ve taken more than 2 or 3 days off between runs.

Well, at around mile 1.5 of this 5K my left shin tightened up and hurt like hell. And I couldn’t make it relax. The rest of the run was one of the more acutely painful I’ve done in a long time.

At first I was mystified – what in the world might be causing this? Slowly it dawned on me what the problem was … I hadn’t warmed up adequately. See, when I do my training runs I deliberately use the first mile as a warm-up mile and hold back. Even on my short runs. Almost always, mile 3 or mile 4 is the best mile for any run that goes that long, because I’ve had a chance to warm up. Well, this time, I took off fast right out of the gate and didn’t give those muscles a chance to ease into it.

So … live and learn. From a high-level perspective, I’m happy with my overall time – 31.42, a 10:18/mile pace. Splits were 9.39, 10.07, 10.54, and then 1.03 for that last tenth of a mile. Plus I got a mid-week run in in a fun way, and got to see a cool new town in coastal Connecticut. Happy New Year!

Notes:

– I’m struggling to dress in the cold. Especially in these situations where I’ve got to kill some time out there, I want to make sure I’m adequately layered. But I’m finding that I’m getting too warm by the end of these runs / races. Though today was cold enough that by the time I got back to the car my sweat had chilled and it took a hot shower to get me warmed back up. I’ll keep tinkering with the layers, though, and eventually get it right.

– Always Read the Plaque – that’s what Roman Mars would tell us – and so when I saw a big monument in the middle of the town green I had to go over and take a look. Turns out, it was a big Civil War monument, listing the names of all of the soldiers that died in the war from Guilford. I have always been fascinated by the Civil War, and as a Southerner have obviously seen my fair share of monuments. However, outside of New York City (which is loaded with them), I’ve seen very little of that up in the Northeast. This was a quite interesting find – and somebody had placed a holiday wreath on the statue soldier’s arm.

Guilford Soldier's Memorial - also not my picture — Guilford Soldier’s Memorial – also not my picture

– The little out-and-back was deceptively short – I’m now accustomed to much longer runs than this – so it was a little jarring when we met the leaders when I was only at about mile 0.9. BUT – they were only at about mile 1.5 or so.

– There was actually packet pickup for this race at a local running store for the last couple of days, so I think many people did that. Because I only did it on race day, I got no SWAG except the t-shirt, which was a nice blue long-sleeved cotton job with a tastefully understated logo on the front. I like getting shirts I might actually wear out.

– That was January – the streak is now at 11 months. I’m registered for races through May, so no end in sight.

– Next race – Super Saturday Run for the End Zone 6K, Montclair, New Jersey

RR #10: Ted Corbitt Classic 15K

New York Road Runner’s races have always intimidated me. Based on what you see online, as well as what I saw when I visited as a spectator, this seems like an elite group of runners. So I’ve been reluctant to register for an NYRR race, if for no other reason than that I felt like I had to lose some more weight and get faster before I wouldn’t stick out. This one, however, just called to me, for several reasons. First – I needed a December race and this fit one of the only open time slots. Second – relatively rare distance, so automatic PR. Third – Central Park in December. So … I registered.

Controversy at the start. The weather, it was not so great. The temps were in the mid- to upper -20s, and up to 3” of snow was being forecast in the area for Saturday. However, and this was how I made my personal call, the snow was not supposed to really start in earnest until late morning or early afternoon. Well, the weather people got that wrong – about the time the race started, the snow started going strong. Many people felt that the combination of the temperatures and the snow should have led the NYRR to call off (or at least postpone) the race, or declare it a “fun run.”

The NYRR has a program for its members called the 9+1 program – if a member registers for and runs 9 qualifying NYRR races throughout the year, they get a guaranteed entry to the New York City Marathon. The Ted Corbitt Classic 15K is the last 9+1 qualifying race of the year, and many people counted on it to complete those requirements. Now, if the NYRR decides to cancel the race or call it a “fun run,” those that were registered for it didn’t need to actually run it to get their 9+1 credit. However, the decision was made to run this as a scored race as planned – and some folks who had to commute down to NYC to make it (like, for instance, me – though I wasn’t meeting any requirements) were pretty upset. They believed that it was unsafe to travel and the NYRR should have called it.

Not me. But taken at the race - these were the conditions. — Not me. But taken at the race – these were the conditions.

For my part, I had exactly zero problems commuting. Metro North is a beautiful thing. It was, however, holy balls cold. In order to minimize the time I was required to kill outside, I went into the city and picked up my bib on Friday afternoon – and I was glad I did. People everywhere.

We got lined up in our starting corrals, heard a couple of words from the President of the NYRR, the Star Spangled Banner, and we’re off. Those of us near the back had to wait about 5 minutes to get to the starting line, but the crowds thinned out pretty quickly – I had no problem running whatever pace I wanted. Because late arrivers and late registrants had to start at the back of the line, there were several people blowing by me at the beginning. It was not easy to keep it in check and start at an appropriate pace.

My overall impression throughout the race, and particularly in the early going, is that I wasn’t prepared. My two recent down weeks are still lingering. I also made some pretty basic mistakes. I had my usual pre-race oatmeal, but that wound up being nearly three and a half hours before I started running, so was probably gone. I didn’t eat anything after that, and probably didn’t have enough water. I also only brought one gel, when I routinely eat two and sometimes three of them on runs this long. I was basically running on a low fuel tank the whole time, and my energy levels made that very clear. After the race was over I got very light-headed, and had to sit for some time. If we’re thinking of races like this as practice for the marathon or other longer distances, I learned some very valuable lessons.

I also made the mistake of not adequately, um, eliminating prior to the race. #1 AND #2. Let us just say things got uncomfortable and move on from here.

Having said all of that, the run itself was quite gorgeous. The course is two loops around Central Park, starting at 102^nd Street on the east side, crossing over and running down the west side, and then doing one loop at 72^nd Street and then the other farther down, near 59^th Street. That’s a pretty dramatic course under normal circumstances – Strawberry Fields, the Columbus Statue, the Fred Lebow Statue, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum, etc. and etc.

Now add snow. It was beautiful.

Central Park is known for rolling hills, which I overall found to not be too bad. The only one that was rough was coming up the east side, between the 72^nd Street traverse and the Met. I remember on the first loop thinking how much that hill was going to suck on the second loop. And I was right. But it is clearly a known commodity, because there were several people and groups lined up from the bottom to the top, encouraging us to “keep pushing up this hill.” Those people were great. They helped. And I gutted out that hill (and the last two miles, really) without ever walking. It was a great feeling to top out and know that I’d done that without walking – I’d conquered it, physically AND mentally.

I ran this at an 11:47 / mile pace, which is slower than I would have liked but really all I could expect given the last month of training. My finish was way near the bottom – out of 4,280 finishers, only about 260 finished behind me – which does prove out the theory that the people that run these things in NYC are no joke. This probably wasn’t helped by the weather, either – the people that came out to this one were the people that were willing to run in that weather. I’ve got to believe that will skew the finish times faster.

This volunteer, between miles 2&3 (and 5&6) was awesome and encouraging... — This volunteer, between miles 2&3 (and 5&6) was awesome and encouraging…

Methinks I’m now over my fear of the NYRR, so we’ll see what is out there going forward. I’ll certainly have this one on the list going forward – I hope I get to do it again next year.

Notes:

– At 3.22 miles on my watch (and about 8.5 miles for them) – the leaders lapped us. Even knowing they got a 5 minute or so head start as we were making our way down the corrals – holy crap. No, seriously – holy crap. By the time I got done running they were somewhere having brunch.

– Running in the snow is peaceful and beautiful when it is a gentle, straight down snow or when the wind is relatively low and coming from behind you. When it is blowing in your face? Not so much.

– Really disappointed in how poorly I handled the fueling situation. That was just a very preventable problem, and I won’t make that mistake again.

– Really happy, though, with my last two miles (including that big hill) – those miles were more mental than they were physical, and I was proud of having toughed it out. Turning the corner to see the finish line was glorious, though.

– In my head, I’d expected a nice, peaceful subway ride up to 103^rd Street from Grand Central, and a slightly snowy but mostly solitary stroll from the subway station over to the park. I have no idea where I got that silly idea, but, yeah, I was wrong. The 6-train was PACKED with runners. Bibs and running shoes everywhere. And it was worse going back the other way. I guess I’m a romantic – but my romanticism got shat upon this go ‘round.

– Based on my watch, my time at the 10K split would have knocked between three and four minutes off of my 10K PR. NYRR doesn’t do an official 10K split, though, so it doesn’t count. Feels good to know that I’m steadily improving.

– NYRR doesn’t really do SWAG – it keeps costs down for the races, which is part of their mission. All I got for this one was a long-sleeved cotton shirt. However, it was a very nice long-sleeved cotton shirt, with understated logos and sponsor logos. Also, it turns out I’m a big fan of bibs that are custom for individual races – colors and race names. I keep a scrapbook of my bibs, and the custom ones are so much more interesting to see.

– That was December’s race, which means the streak is up to 10 months. January, February, March, and April have also been registered for, so … onward!

– Next Race – Frosty 5k, Guilford, Connecticut … January 1.

Fred Lebow Memorial Statue, Central Park

RR# 8 – Ragnar Tennessee

I talked about the bigger picture significance of this event for me here.

First, let’s talk about Ragnar. The easy description is that it is a relay – 12 people run roughly 200 miles in 36 legs. 6 people “live” in one van, and they run the first six legs. The 6 people “living” in van # 2 then take over and run the next six legs. And the vans leapfrog each other like that until the finish line. In this particular Ragnar, our team started in Chattanooga at 9am on Friday and crossed the finish line in Nashville at roughly 3pm on Saturday. They build the legs so that teams can be formed with various levels of experience and speed – each leg is rated “easy” through “very hard”, and there are always one or two runners that have a relatively light load and two or three that have an exceptionally difficult load.

But describing a Ragnar by talking about the logistics is a bit like describing a song or poem by discussing its cadence or rhyme structure. That’s accurate, but doesn’t quite get at the thing.

Ragnar is camping and running and “living” for 30 hours in a small van with people you just met yesterday (or maybe even this morning). Ragnar is cowbells and encouragement and airhorns and pulling over every chance you get – and not just for your team, but for all the teams.

Ragnar is a shooting star during your 3.5 miler at 3am.

Ragnar is running and logistics and craziness – but Ragnar is also an experience and a memory. And what an experience.

So … when I committed to do this I had run about zero miles. Pretty much exactly zero miles. So I got the “newbie runner” position – I’d been working towards a total of about 10.5 miles in three legs measuring roughly 4.5, 1.5, & 4.5 miles. And I was very comfortable with that. But about three weeks before the race kicked off, our team (Pants Optional) lost a runner. Since the best options for last minute replacements probably needed to be in that “newbie runner” slot, I agreed to move. And I’m glad I did … but.

My mileage increased to more like 17.5. My first leg was 8.1 miles, and was a total downhill bomb over the first half. In the first 4 miles, I lost about 900 feet in elevation. And while the downhill itself is tough, the bank of the road on the curves was worse. I had to hold back to not just fly down that mountain. And then at the bottom I had another 4 miles through the Tennessee countryside, ending in a town called Cowan. I was runner number 12, so this leg happened during sunset and it was totally dark when I got to the exchange point. And I was ready to be done running.

Comin' down the mountain on Leg #12 — Comin’ down the mountain on Leg #12

Our van was then off-duty … we then went and ate some dinner at a little Italian place in Cowan, and it was GOOD. And then we drove up to the next major exchange in Tullahoma to wait on the other van. I wound up being “on duty” for a lot of this one, so got pretty much no sleep.

The second leg for me was a 3.5 miler that happened at about 3am. The night was very cold and clear, but the race bible lied. Well, not lied exactly. But misled. See – there is an elevation profile for every leg, and this one was no different. But the Ragnar organization puts on races all over the country, in very rugged territory, and they apparently have standardized their scale – which was 0 to 2000 feet. On this leg, with a total elevation change in a 100 foot range, that meant it looked very flat. It wasn’t, however, flat. Much of this one was one of those long, gradual uphill climbs that aren’t steep enough to slow down but never let you coast for a minute. And I just wasn’t prepared for it. Overall, my time was fine – but I was not happy with how this leg went.

Back in the van – I changed out of my clothes, laid down, and don’t remember anything for the next 3 hours or so. The next major exchange was in Franklin, a suburb of Nashville.

When we got rolling again, there was a surprising amount of overall energy in our van. At this point nobody had gotten more than 2 or 3 hours of total sleep – and I’d run nearly 12 miles in the most recent 12 hour period. But, daylight makes things better and we were off again.

I'm not sure where this energy came from... — I’m not sure where this energy came from…

Leg # 3 for me was also the final leg for the team – and they did a spectacular job of showing off the city of Nashville. We ran the first mile or so near the Belmont campus, and then ran the entire length of Music Row. We then looped around to Bicentennial State Park, ran into Printer’s Alley downtown, and then through the crowds outside the bars and the nightclubs. By this time all of the runners were very spread out, so those people were surely … surely … wondering what the sweaty fat guy was doing trying to run through all of that humanity. And by then I was done – this was a 6 mile leg, and I started alternating runs and walks with a hill at about mile 4. The idea was just to survive, and I survived.

About 200 yards from the finish line the teams all line up and wait for their runners – and then fall in behind them and the whole team crosses the finish line together. It was both cool to see my team, and also a shot in the arm to have all of those other teams there cheering. We crossed the finish line, had our team picture taken, and went straight to the beer tent and the pizza tent. The beer was too hoppy and the pizza was awful.

But it was glorious. I can’t wait until my next Ragnar.

Notes:

– The biggest thing I’ll do differently next time is organize my bag better. I spent just entirely too much time rooting around in my stuff trying to find the right shirt or shorts or socks, or panicking because I couldn’t locate my headlamp or my iPod or my race number. That will need to tighten up.

– Cowbells. Seriously. Cowbells are basically mandatory.

– Three of us staggered to our hotel in Nashville after it was over and got takeout barbeque. After eating until we couldn’t take another bite, we passed out at about 7pm. I don’t remember anything else until 7am the next morning. That was one of the most glorious sleeps that has ever been slept.

– Really cool technical shirt in the SWAG, and the medals are big bottle openers. My medal has already acquired magnets and been permanently placed on the refrigerator. Our team captain had GREAT team shirts printed up, and we also got a stainless steel pint glass with a coozie emblazoned with the Pants Optional logo. Plus I made a stop at the merchandise tent. I LOVE all the stuff I came back with

– Actually gave an “interview” (I put that in quotes because it was more like a recorded conversation) while I was in Chattanooga about taking up running and losing weight. THAT was a pretty awesome experience, about which I’ll have more if and when that ever gets published. That could also come with a big announcement. Fun!

– October event, which means the streak is now up to 8 months. I’ve got races scheduled in November, December, January, February, & March. That will get me to 13. This is still no 10 years, but I’m starting to get attached to this streak.

– Next race – Fall Pier-to-Pier Run/Walk, from the Hermosa Beach Pier to the Manhattan Beach Pier, Los Angeles, California … November 9^th.

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