Stillwater Half Marathon - May 29,2011

The Stillwater event held on Memorial weekend hosts five different race distances from 5k to full marathon.  The full marathon has little interest for me due to the challenging and hilly course which makes running a fast time unlikely.  This was my third half marathon this spring and final tune-up for Grandma's marathon next month.  Believe it or not, the weather was ideal for racing today.  50 degrees, cloudy, with little to no wind.  My first race of the year wearing just shorts, shirt and my shoes!  

The half marathon course is also very challenging.  The race begins about a half mile south of the Stillwater lift bridge.  The first two miles are relatively easy heading south along the St Croix Trail.  After turning west on 5th for a short stint, the course turns north on Stagecoach Trail heading back toward Stillwater.  This is where the fun begins.  Miles 3-5 climb about 300 feet back into southwestern end of Stillwater.  Mile 3 is the most challenging of these miles with steep grades in several locations.  Not surprisingly my mile splits were about 15-20 seconds per mile slower than the first two miles of the race, but as I began mile 6, I could tell I still had a good pace going overall.  


Stillwater Half Marathon Course:
http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/18737868

West of Stillwater, miles 6 through 8 were relatively flat while mile 9 was primarily downhill - a welcomed break to the earlier uphill miles.  These mid-race miles allowed me to maintain my race pace and remain on target for a good overall time.  Mile 10 was the last uphill mile on course and its hills put up a good fight.  I ran mile 10 about 20 seconds off my race pace.  It was the toughest mile of the race for me as overall fatigue set in and the climbs were very tough for me.

But now came the final 3 miles of the race which were all downhill.  Downhill running is not as easy as it seems, particularly once fatigue sets in.  Striding out while running downhill puts significant stress on the quads from the pounding.  I tried to run as relaxed and loose as possible to avoid injury.  Mile 11 took us north on County 5 and then east on Dellwood Road as we began our descent back to the river and the finish line.  I was back on pace through mile 11, but mile 12 is where I really pushed the pace.  The 12th mile represented the steepest descent among the downhill miles and I really took advantage of it running 10 seconds faster than my overall race pace.

Near the end of mile 12th the course turned south onto the St Croix Trail and the finish line in downtown Stillwater.  The final mile of the race was also downhill, but more of a gradual descent.  Runners were few and far between at this point but I was locked onto the runner in front of me while trying to hold off a runner behind me.  I passed the runner in front of me with about a half mile to go, but the runner behind me was still in hot pursuit.  The competition helped me run my fastest mile of the race (6:29 - about 20 seconds faster than my overall race pace).  With 250 yards to go we made a short left turn onto Mulberry and one final right turn toward the finish line.  It became a sprint to the finish as the runner behind me pulled even and then a stride ahead of me.  I then pulled even with him before digging deep one last time to surge ahead as we crossed the finish line.  It felt good to hold him off but technically his chip time was a few seconds faster than mine, so the official results have him finishing ahead of me. 

  

For several years I have been trying to break the 90 minute barrier in the half marathon and repeatedly came up just short.  Knowing this was going to be a difficult and hilly course I didn't give much thought to running under 90 minutes today, but for the first time all year the weather was on my side.  As I looked at the official race times my eyes popped open when I saw 1:29:15 next to my name (6:49/mile pace).  At long last, I finally broke 90 minutes in the half and beat my previous best time by one minute.  I finished 19th among 630 finishers and 2nd among 27 in my age group.

What a relief to finally reach my goal after many disappointing attempts where either the weather, the course, or my mental/physical stamina stood in the way.  Today was finally my day!  On to Grandma's Marathon in June.  The first of two full marathons this year with Chicago being the other.  If I could run 3:10:59 or faster at Grandma's I could sneak into the top corral in Chicago which is a goal of mine.  To do this I will need to run 3 minutes faster than my previous best of 3:14:00.  I need a perfect weather day in Duluth to have a chance to break 3:11.  Since the weather hasn't been friendly this year, I won't be too focused on this goal in case the weather dissapoints me again.  But, if I wake up to perfect racing conditions June 18th, running 3:10:59 will immediately move from the background to the forefront of my mind and I will go after it with everything I have. 

Race Results:
http://www.mtecresults.com/race/show/337      

Northern Lakes Run 10 Mile - May 14, 2011

This was my second time running the Northern Lakes Run 10 Mile event in White Bear Lake, MN.  Ran it back in 2008 as well.  It's a nice course that takes you counter clockwise around Bald Eagle Lake.  I haven't entered too many 10 miles races.  Only two previous, with the last being two years ago.  The weather was cool (45 degrees) but warmest race so far this year!  Winds were from the north with a light "off and on" drizzle.  The poor weather has also kept race participation down this spring.  There were less than 200 runners in this one which was a bit surprising as this is a fairly popular race...at least among men in their 50's.  More on that later.      

The race began just north of the high school heading south for a few blocks before turning north again toward the lake.  Winds were from the north at about 10 mph, in our face for the first 3-4 miles, but nothing like the winds I experienced in my prior two races.  The runners quickly thinned out with the small field today.  I wanted to run a time around 1:08 which would be 3 minutes faster than my prior best 10 time at this distance.  I settled into a 6:45/mile pace and found myself running behind a gentleman in my age group that I have crossed paths with in prior races.  He was running the same pace, so I decided to let him lead the way as he is a grinder who does a good job keeping a strong steady pace through the race.

Around the 4 mile mark it settled into a 3 person pack.  The leaders opened up a gap on the 3 of us while we opened up a gap on the field behind us.  I continued to be the follower, making sure I didn't lose contact as the miles went by.  My friend was doing a great job keeping us on pace each mile so all I had to do was make sure I didn't let a gap grow between us.  Miles 5-6 took us south along the west side of the lake with the wind to our backs.  I was surprised to suddenly hear footsteps behind me as I thought we had created separation with those behind, but a young runner in his mid 20's caught us and now there were 4 in our pack.

Miles 7 and 8 took us east along the south side of the lake and back into a bit of a headwind.  The four of us began to close on a runner in front of us who I later discovered was also in my age group.  The 5 of us were running together as a pack with nobody else in site ahead or behind.  At the 8 mile mark the course took us up a hill and then turned south toward the finish line.  The pace remained strong and I began wondering how this would play out among the 5 of us over the final 2 miles.  Would one of us make a move and try to break away from the pack?  I knew it wasn't going to be me.  I was spent.  My hope was to stay in contact with the others and try to make one final push with 400 meters to go to hopefully surprise the others.  

Our 5 person pack held together through mile 8 with some minor jockeying for position but at the 9 mile mark one of the two young guys dropped back leaving four of us.  3 guys in their 50's and a 25 year old (first picture below).  We turned south on Division St which is a straight shot to the finish line a little over a half mile away.  I had been mentally gearing up all race to make one last push as we neared the finish line.  I made sure I was stayed behind the pack so as not to give them an idea that I might have a kick left.  Then with 400 meters to go I took off.  I quickly created some separation from the other three and thought I was home free, but with 100 meters to go the young guy caught and passed me.  My 400 meter kick came up 100 meters short as I simply was out of gas.  However I was fortunate enough to hold off my two age group buddies who were right behind me as we entered the chute.    

I finished with a time of 1:07:07 (6:43 pace).  My best 10 mile time by over 4 minutes.  Overall I finished 13th among 151 runners and 4th among 14 in my age group.  A very strong age group I might add.  6 of the top 15 finishers were in the 50-59 year age group and the top two in my age group ran national class age group times finishing 2nd and 3rd overall in the race.

Race results:
http://www.onlineraceresults.com/race/view_plain_text.php?race_id=18886

Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon - May 1, 2011

I need to laugh to avoid crying over the weather in Minnesota this year.  Winter was very cold, snowy and long.  Everyone here is looking forward to warmer weather, but it just doesn't want to come.  It feels like mid November with gloomy overcast skies and the trees have yet to leaf out.  Average temperatures should be around 65 degrees by now, however we were greeted with a race time temperature of 32 degrees, an overcast sky and strong 25-30 mph winds from the west.  As much as I tried to stay positive, I was mentally defeated before the race began.  To be honest, I was angry as I waited with other shivering runners for the gun to go off.  Angry, because I knew there was no way I could break the elusive 90 minute half marathon goal I set for myself 2 years ago.  Not in this wind.  The first 7 miles of the race took us west, directly into the teeth of this relentless wind - the main reason I was irritated as the race was about to begin. 

Trying to run the first 7 miles at goal pace would have been senseless, so I intentionally ran about 15 seconds per mile slower, hoping I might find my second wind (no pun intended) once the course turned south.  Ignoring the wind for a minute, the course itself was more challenging that I expected.  Many rolling hills along the way.  What would be a beautiful course on a sunny summer day, looked dreary and bleak with leafless trees and cloudy skies.  I said this before, but it looked and felt like November, not May.  This point to point race began in Wayzata on the north side of the lake and  ends in Excelsior on the south side of the lake. 

As the miles clicked by, I tried to ignore the headwind and strong gusts which seemed to knock me backwards.  The runners were now single file and spreading out.  I could see we were all trying to use each other to cut through the wind, but by mile 5, the gaps between runners were becoming too large to use each other for this purpose.  As mile 7 approached, I realized I was over halfway home and about to turn south where the wind would at least become a cross wind rather than a headwind.  

It was also at this point in the race where I had hoped to increase my pace if possible.  It didn't happen though.  Miles 7-10 were the slowest miles I ran all day, although the range between my fastest and slowest mile was only 15 seconds.  For the most part I locked into a 7 minute per mile pace and stuck with it the entire way.  I wasn't mentally geared up to push beyond my limits today.  There were 4 runners that passed me over the 2nd half of the race while I don't recall passing any.  This was discouraging.  Typically I'm the runner passing others as the race wears down, but today that wasn't happening.  I wasn't falling off my pace and slowing down but neither were the runners in front of me.  This is where I typically find an extra gear along with a mental lift if I can lock onto a runner, run them down and pass them.

With a little over a mile to go we turned east onto a regional trail before entering Excelsior.  The wind was at our backs now for one of the rare times all day.  I could hear the footsteps of a small group of runners gaining on me from behind.  I was tired of being passed and decided I was going to hold off any more challengers.  I pushed hard over the final mile as we entered the little town and made our way to the finish.  Like last race I took advantage of a short downhill section and by the time it leveled out I couldn't hear footsteps any more.

I finished with a time of 1:32:05, good for 64th place among 2,430 runners.  I also finished 8th in my age group among 112 runners.  My time was almost a minute slower than what I ran 2 weeks ago in St Cloud.  This was my 5th best half marathon time among 9 I have run so far.  Basically a middle of the road result for me.  Had I run 1:32 on a good weather day I would have been very disappointed, but today, it was what it was.  My next race is the Northern Lakes 10 mile run on May 14th, in White Bear Lake, MN. 

Race Results:
http://assets.ngin.com/attachments/document/0018/1841/Overall.pdf