City of Lakes 25k - September 12, 2010

The City of Lakes 25k was race 11 of 13 in the MDRA Grand Prix series.  It also represented my last race tune-up before the Twin Cities Marathon next month.  This is also my first ever 25k event which traditionally brings out a strong field of runners representing numerous running teams.  The course begins on the southwest corner of Lake Harriet and makes two counterclockwise laps around Harriet and Lake Calhoun before one final half lap to the north side of Harriet to the finish line. 

In prior years I would run a 20 mile race as my final tune-up before my fall marathon, but with this being a Grand Prix event I had to forgo one of the local 20 mile events and run this.  The race allowed me the opportunity to try and stretch a sub 7 minute pace beyond a half marathon distance which is something I have not done previously.  It was a very nice day with temps in the mid 60's, clear with a 10mph wind from the south.  I went into the race hoping to run a time of 1:47 to 1:49 by maintaining a sub 7 minute pace overall.  Within the first few miles I settled into a 6:52 pace and maintained this pace throughout the race. 

I finished with a time of 1:46:42 placing me 106th overall among 655 finishers and 11th among 55 in my age group.  The race earned me an additional 667 points toward the Grand Prix moving me up to 7th place in the overall standings with 6,149 points and also kept me in first place in my age group.  Just two Grand Prix events left in the season and the Twin Cities Marathon is next in line on October 3rd!

http://www.raceberryjam.com/2010/colmen.html

MDRA Victory Labor Day 10k - September 6th, 2010

The MDRA Labor Day 10k event is the 10th race of 13 in the 2010 Grand Prix series.  It was a beautiful morning for a race with sunny skies, temps in the low 60's and a light breeze from the south.  Approximately 500 runners ran is this years event on Victory Memorial Pkwy in Minneapolis.  The 10k is an out-and-back race that begins and ends on Webber Pkwy.  From Webber Pkwy the course heads west on Victory Memorial Pkwy and then turns south to the turn-around near Lowry Avenue.

I ran my fastest 10k (39:14) 2 months ago in July and was hoping to top it today.  The Victory course is considered a fast course being relatively flat with just a couple turns.  I ran the first mile in 6:21, just 1 second off my PR pace.  Miles 2 and 3 head south into a light breeze which wasn't strong but noticeable.  I ran mile 2 in 6:15, 7 seconds ahead of my PR pace.  But then I ran my slowest mile of the race in 6:33 slipping 8 seconds behind my PR pace.  Mile 3 was slightly uphill and apparently slowed me down even though I felt like I was maintaining my pace and leg turnover.

Mile 4 was the reverse of mile 3 as we headed back to the finish.  I also got back on race pace running a 6:14 but fell 11 seconds off my PR pace.  Mile 5 was my fastest mile of the race (6:09) which pulled me to within 7 seconds of my PR pace.  Throughout the race there were other runners within striking distance for me to pursue and overtake which helped to maintain my pace while fighting through the fatigue.  However with a little over a mile to go I ran out of runners close enough to pursue and had to rely on will power to maintain my pace.  I ran mile 6 in 6:18, but fell 8 seconds off my PR pace.  I could tell I didn't have a final sprint in me today but pushed through the final quarter mile as best I could.  I finished with a time of 39:26, just 12 seconds off my PR.   

I finished 45th overall among 469 finishers and 6th among 34 in my age group earning an additional 838 points in the Grand Prix.  I moved into 8th place overall with 5,482 points and remain in first place in my age group.  The next race on the schedule is the City of Lakes 25k just 6 days from today. 

http://vimeo.com/14787685

Race results:
http://www.raceberryjam.com/2010/victory10kmen.html