Medtronic Twin Cities 1 Mile - May 13, 2010

I entered this race for fun as well as to watch the USA 1 Mile Road Championships hosted by this event.  The event hosted the national championships last year as well with some very good milers in the bunch challenging the 4 minute barrier.  The course is a straight shot down Nicollet Mall beginning near Washington Ave and ending between 14th and 15th St.  Since I ran two indoor miles this winter I was also curious what kind of time I could obtain in a 1 mile outdoor road race.

Not a good first half of the month weather wise in Minnesota.  Very windy and although it was about 50 degrees it felt bone chilling as several passing showers helped to increase the chill factor.  For a race this short I wanted to get good and lathered up before the gun, but I could tell it was going to be difficult.  The race consisted of 6 different heats based on age groupings and ability with the men and women championship heats last.  I chose to run the 40+ Masters heat which was 3rd on the schedule.  Warming up was difficult in a downtown setting with people milling everywhere, but I managed to get in 2 miles before my heat. 

We were instructed to report to the starting gate 10 minutes before the gun, so I pulled off my warm-up gear and made my way to the start.  Just about then a light shower hit.  With the cool air, wind, and rain, I soon became chilled to the bone as I waited for the race to begin.  So much for being good and lathered up at the start.  Hypothermic may have been a better word to describe how I felt.  I realized this race may not go as planned.  I wanted to try and run a sub 5:30 mile which would beat my best indoor time of 5:31, but all I could think about was how wonderful a nice long, hot shower would be right now.

As the gun went off I began to maneuver around until I found a free running lane but as I reached the quarter mile mark I knew this would not be my day.  I ran a fast first quarter but spent too much energy maneuvering for position and was still chilled to the bone.  I just wanted the race to be over and so I put it in cruise control for the next half mile.  As I entered the last quarter I dug down for a little extra to finish strong but finished with a time of 5:48 - well short of my hopes.

I finished 225 of  2,358 overall and 15 of 93 in my age group.  I know the race would have been a lot more fun had the weather cooperated, but I hung around to watch the championship events before heading home to that hot shower I was craving.  Well, it's back to marathon training in preparation for Grandma's Marathon on June 19th.  Every race I have run over the past 3 years has been a new, or first time event for me.  Grandma's will be my first return trip race.  Hopefully I can improve upon my 3:25 time of last year!

http://live.mtecresults.com/runner/show?rid=1802&race=15

New Prague Half Marathon - May 8, 2010

The New Prague Half Marathon was race 5 of 13 in the MDRA Grand Prix Series.  I missed race 4 (Get in Gear 10k) because it was the same weekend as the Big Sur Marathon.  By not running the 10k, I fell to 16th place in the overall standings.  However since you can only include your top 10 results among the 13 races, it shouldn't hurt me as long as I finish at least 10 of the races. 

It was a cold and blustery day in New Prague with temps in the low 40's and a 15-20mph wind from the north.  I sat in my warm car until it was time to begin warming up.  The half marathon course was basically a large vertical rectangle running in a clockwise direction.  The first 2.5 miles took us east before turning south for the next 4 miles.  The rolling rural course was surrounded by open farm fields on both sides.  I kept a steady pace in the low 6:50/mile range taking advantage of the tail wind as we headed south.

At the halfway point we turned west for another 2.5 miles.  I realized the wind was more from the northwest as it began to buffet us with strong wind gusts.  Not a good sign considering we had to run north for the final 4 miles.  With about 4 miles to go we turned north heading directly into the teeth of the wind.  I struggled to maintain my pace with the wind and the rolling hills, but I had a good time going and my legs felt surprisingly strong despite my recent marathon. 

I've been trying to break 90 minutes in the half marathon for two years now and with 2 miles left it looked like I might actually have a shot.  At the same time precipitation in the form of ice pellets began to sting my face which was a momentary unwelcomed distraction.  With 1 mile to go I took advantage of a downhill section to push the pace, running mile 13 in 6:37, my fastest of the race.  As I hit the final stretch I saw my Garmin reading 1:29 but didn't know the seconds.  I pushed as hard as I could but saw it flip to 1:30 with about 50 yards to go.  I crossed the finish line with a new personal best of 1:30:15 - a full 1:12 better than my previous PR.  I was thrilled with my time since I wasn't expecting to challenge my PR today.

I finished 32 of 609 finishers and 2 of 33 in my age group.  In addition, my performance earned me an additional 778 Grand Prix points boosting my season point total to 3,018.  The race also helped me climb 4 positions to 12th in the overall standings.  The next Grand Prix event is Grandma's Marathon on June 19th, however I have one more 'fun' race next week - the Medtronic TC - 1 Mile on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis.   

http://www.andersonraces.com/Results/nphalfrs10.htm