Saturday, October 29, 2016
Monster Dash 10 Mile - October 29, 2016
The Monster Dash 10 Mile is the second to last race on my 2016 season. I ran this race once previously in 2013. Just coming off a difficult marathon just 3 weeks ago, I really don't feel like I have the bounce back in my step yet. Although I'm not sure I've had the bounce in my step at any time this year. This winter I plan to completely revamp my off-season training program with the hope of entering next season with stronger/healthier legs that will hopefully translate to injury free racing next year. I've never experienced injuries during actual races prior to this year. It's been a crazy race season for me as a result. Next year I will graduate into the 60-65 age group and become the young kid on the block again. I really want to have a successful race season next year. One that allows me to run to my potential without holding back for fear of injury.
It was an unseasonably warm day for a morning race in late October. 52 degrees, cloudy with a moderate NW breeze. Rain was in the forecast, but held off until just after I finished the race. The Monster Dash draws large numbers because the course offers a 250 foot elevation drop from the start of the race to the finish. The chance for fast times is a key motivation for many runners. The other reason is the opportunity to dress up in Halloween costumes and attempt to run a race. I don't fall into that camp, but I tip my hat to a few runners who actually run competitive times in very uncomfortable costumes. What I don't like are the various logistical challenges that come with this downtown St. Paul race. Parking, Maneuvering to the start on foot. Trying to get back to your car after the race where the finish line is about a mile south from the start. It's not the easiest of races to deal with, but the course is the draw, so I don't anticipate this race moving elsewhere any time soon.
One interesting note is that race participation was way down this year due to bad press Team Ortho received this summer, surrounding one of their races that eventually had to be cancelled due to a course permit issue with the city of Minneapolis. It appears this left a bad taste in the mouth with many runners who have walked away from today's race. Team Ortho sponsors about a half dozen large race events in the Twin Cities each year that normally draw huge numbers. But today's runner participation was down about 50% to what they were last year. Still large participation relatively speaking (1,500 finishers), but not what they normally draw. Team Ortho appears to still be in some degree of damage control, with some work to do to rebuild their image. They do a great job promoting their races, but I think they would be better off trimming a few of their events from the calendar and focus on making a smaller number of races great again. They've shown the ability to put on good races in the past, so they should be able to do it again if they don't spread themselves too thin.
As previously mentioned, I came into this race a bit "dead legged" from my recent marathon, coupled with a small handful of nagging leg issues (calves/hamstrings). I've also had no luck avoiding injury, when attempting to run a sub 7 minute/mile pace. So I intentionally kept my pace right on 7 minutes/mile for the first 3 miles. Then, I began to slowly improve my pace from that point on. This strategy seemed to work out okay for me today. For the first time all year, I ran faster as the race progressed. I didn't re-aggravate my calf, or hamstring issues which have plagued me all year. This allowed me to push the pace, while gaining confidence with each passing mile. My last 5 miles were my fastest mile splits. I ran a 6:26 final mile, while also running the final 5k of the race in just over 20 minutes.
I finished with a time of 1:08:01, good for 15th place overall among 1,528 finishers and 3rd among 76 finishers in my 10 year age group (50-59). All things considered, this was my best race of the year. Nothing to pound my chest about, but a solid race that felt good because I was able to run strong through the finish. No flat tires along the way. This was my 3rd fastest 10 mile race among the 8 I've run, although still 2 minutes, 13 seconds off my best 10 mile time. I had no intentions of realistically challenging my PR today with the issues I've been dealing with this year. But in the back of my mind, it left me wondering what would have happened if I had attacked the race right from the start. Possibly an even faster time? Or maybe just another injury and disappointing finish. Today, I'm just going to be happy with the result I had and leave it at that.
My final race of the season is a 5k in downtown Minneapolis, on Thanksgiving Day morning.
Race Results:
http://www.mtecresults.com/runner/show?race=4806&rid=6194
Sunday, October 9, 2016
Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon - October 9, 2016
I can't believe this is my 6th Twin Cities Marathon today. Always the highlight of my race season, particularly since I trimmed down to just one marathon per year. It also brings me full circle back to where my very first race nine years ago (2007). Even in 2007, I thought this was going to be a "one and done" thing. No idea I would still be doing this almost 10 years later. Hoping very much that this race will be a highlight to what has been a very disappointing race season for me so far. Every year I've been able to point to a small handful of races where I surprised myself by exceeding my expectations. So far this year, none of my races can be categorized in that manner.
The biggest issue this year has been a small handful of in-race injuries (calf cramping) that derailed my performance - particularly in the shorter/faster races. I've never had an injury during a race until this year. But this year it became the norm, forcing me to drop out of one race and skip another for fear of re-injury. Although I dropped out of a half marathon at the midway point, I was able to finish two other half marathons without injury. However my times were slower than expected. But I'm coming into today's race feeling very good about how my aggressive high mileage training has gone over the past six weeks.
Then three days before the marathon, I became ill. A bad head cold completely sapped my strength. On Friday, two days before the marathon, I really thought I would have to withdraw due to illness. A 26 mile race is nothing to mess around with - particularly when one's health is not 100%. However it's also very hard to walk away, after months of hard work and training to prepare for the race. I convinced myself last night that I felt well enough to give it a go. Deep down I knew I wasn't 100%. A bad head cold usually takes two weeks to flush through my system. This was just going to be another obstacle to overcome in a race season filled with many obstacles.
Another reason I wanted to run so badly today was the weather. We have been blessed with good weather for this race almost every year and today was no exception. It was sunny, dry and relatively calm with an air temperature in the upper 30's at the start, warming to the upper 40's by the end of race. In the weeks leading up to the race, I always worry about the potential for bad weather. The marathon is a long, difficult, grueling race that doesn't need help from the weather to make it even tougher than it already is. But today, the weather was about as good as you can ask for.
Although the weather was great for racing, 38 degrees is a bit chilly just waiting around for the race to start. With U.S. Bank Stadium now in operation, just two blocks from the starting line, it would have been nice for the doors to be open for runners to warm like was done in the old Metrodome days. However today, the Vikings have a home game at noon and new security laws prevent non-event access to the building 24 hours prior to the game. This conflict was caused by the Ryder Cup which was in town last weekend. Normally, marathon weekend would have been last weekend too, but was pushed to this weekend to allow the Ryder Cup to take center stage. The NFL will continue to schedule the Vikings out of town the first weekend in October, so the marathon can utilize the stadium as base camp for the runners before the race, as in years past with the Metrodome.
As the race began, all was good. I settled into my race pace and tried to feed off the noisy crowds that lined the Minneapolis lakes and parkways that dominate the first half of the race. Heading north on the east side of Lake Nokomis is the midway point of the race. There are time clocks scattered throughout the course, but it's the clock on Nokomis at the 13.1 mile mark that I use to gauge how I'm doing and motivate me for the second half of the race. My time was 1:38 this year. Two minutes slower than last year. Still not bad though, but it was the first indication that a 3:15 marathon may not be waiting for me at the end of the race.
I didn't want to allow negative thoughts into my head at the time, but if I had been honest with myself, I would have recognized that I wasn't running as smooth and efficiently as I did last year. My time was okay to this point, but the first half of the race took more out of me than it did last year, despite running two minutes slower. Over the next five miles I tried to convince myself that because I ran two minutes slower, I now have more energy left in the tank to tackle the second half of the race. A positive approach to take mentally, but one that became more and more difficult to convince myself of with each mile that passed.
Like it or not and I definitely didn't like it, my mile splits were not delivering the news I was hoping for. No major "bonks" but the splits were a few seconds slower with each mile I completed. As I reached the 18 mile mark, shortly before crossing over to the St Paul side of the river, I knew my time was going to be at least five minutes slower than last year. So I held out hope that I could "will" myself to a 3;20 marathon over the final eight miles of the race. Miles 20 and 21 are slightly downhill along the east side of the river on the St Paul side. But my mile splits continued to slow, despite to help of gravity. This was a devastating and fatal blow to my psyche. At that point I admitted to myself that my tank was truly empty and I still had five miles to go. The next two miles (22/23) were uphill, the toughest two miles of the course. I was running on life support now. It was clear that although I was feeling better this morning than I had been the prior two days, my body had not fully recovered from my illness and I began this race with less than a full tank of gas.
There is nothing worse in a marathon, than to realize your goals are no longer achievable and yet you somehow still need to reach the finish line. All motivation is gone and the miles seem to be suspended in time. You run and run, but never seem to reach the next mile split...or so it seems. It was an ugly finish for me, but I did finish. The attached pictures are blurry because I captured still images from several video clips my son took from different locations along the course. Although they seem appropriate, as my mind was in a complete fog and my vision just as blurry. I finished with a time of 3:29:53 - 15 minutes slower than last year. My slowest marathon in 6 years. Overall, I finished 1,045 out of 8,556 finishers and 22 out of 229 finishers in my age group. It is what it is. This race fits right in with how my race season has gone this year. I have two races remaining to close the season. A 10 Mile race on October 29th and a Thanksgiving Day 5k. My optimism is always renewed as a new race approaches. But as for today, I'm just glad it's over.
Race results: http://www.mtecresults.com/runner/show?rid=2217&race=4497
The biggest issue this year has been a small handful of in-race injuries (calf cramping) that derailed my performance - particularly in the shorter/faster races. I've never had an injury during a race until this year. But this year it became the norm, forcing me to drop out of one race and skip another for fear of re-injury. Although I dropped out of a half marathon at the midway point, I was able to finish two other half marathons without injury. However my times were slower than expected. But I'm coming into today's race feeling very good about how my aggressive high mileage training has gone over the past six weeks.
Then three days before the marathon, I became ill. A bad head cold completely sapped my strength. On Friday, two days before the marathon, I really thought I would have to withdraw due to illness. A 26 mile race is nothing to mess around with - particularly when one's health is not 100%. However it's also very hard to walk away, after months of hard work and training to prepare for the race. I convinced myself last night that I felt well enough to give it a go. Deep down I knew I wasn't 100%. A bad head cold usually takes two weeks to flush through my system. This was just going to be another obstacle to overcome in a race season filled with many obstacles.
Another reason I wanted to run so badly today was the weather. We have been blessed with good weather for this race almost every year and today was no exception. It was sunny, dry and relatively calm with an air temperature in the upper 30's at the start, warming to the upper 40's by the end of race. In the weeks leading up to the race, I always worry about the potential for bad weather. The marathon is a long, difficult, grueling race that doesn't need help from the weather to make it even tougher than it already is. But today, the weather was about as good as you can ask for.
Although the weather was great for racing, 38 degrees is a bit chilly just waiting around for the race to start. With U.S. Bank Stadium now in operation, just two blocks from the starting line, it would have been nice for the doors to be open for runners to warm like was done in the old Metrodome days. However today, the Vikings have a home game at noon and new security laws prevent non-event access to the building 24 hours prior to the game. This conflict was caused by the Ryder Cup which was in town last weekend. Normally, marathon weekend would have been last weekend too, but was pushed to this weekend to allow the Ryder Cup to take center stage. The NFL will continue to schedule the Vikings out of town the first weekend in October, so the marathon can utilize the stadium as base camp for the runners before the race, as in years past with the Metrodome.
As the race began, all was good. I settled into my race pace and tried to feed off the noisy crowds that lined the Minneapolis lakes and parkways that dominate the first half of the race. Heading north on the east side of Lake Nokomis is the midway point of the race. There are time clocks scattered throughout the course, but it's the clock on Nokomis at the 13.1 mile mark that I use to gauge how I'm doing and motivate me for the second half of the race. My time was 1:38 this year. Two minutes slower than last year. Still not bad though, but it was the first indication that a 3:15 marathon may not be waiting for me at the end of the race.
I didn't want to allow negative thoughts into my head at the time, but if I had been honest with myself, I would have recognized that I wasn't running as smooth and efficiently as I did last year. My time was okay to this point, but the first half of the race took more out of me than it did last year, despite running two minutes slower. Over the next five miles I tried to convince myself that because I ran two minutes slower, I now have more energy left in the tank to tackle the second half of the race. A positive approach to take mentally, but one that became more and more difficult to convince myself of with each mile that passed.
Like it or not and I definitely didn't like it, my mile splits were not delivering the news I was hoping for. No major "bonks" but the splits were a few seconds slower with each mile I completed. As I reached the 18 mile mark, shortly before crossing over to the St Paul side of the river, I knew my time was going to be at least five minutes slower than last year. So I held out hope that I could "will" myself to a 3;20 marathon over the final eight miles of the race. Miles 20 and 21 are slightly downhill along the east side of the river on the St Paul side. But my mile splits continued to slow, despite to help of gravity. This was a devastating and fatal blow to my psyche. At that point I admitted to myself that my tank was truly empty and I still had five miles to go. The next two miles (22/23) were uphill, the toughest two miles of the course. I was running on life support now. It was clear that although I was feeling better this morning than I had been the prior two days, my body had not fully recovered from my illness and I began this race with less than a full tank of gas.
There is nothing worse in a marathon, than to realize your goals are no longer achievable and yet you somehow still need to reach the finish line. All motivation is gone and the miles seem to be suspended in time. You run and run, but never seem to reach the next mile split...or so it seems. It was an ugly finish for me, but I did finish. The attached pictures are blurry because I captured still images from several video clips my son took from different locations along the course. Although they seem appropriate, as my mind was in a complete fog and my vision just as blurry. I finished with a time of 3:29:53 - 15 minutes slower than last year. My slowest marathon in 6 years. Overall, I finished 1,045 out of 8,556 finishers and 22 out of 229 finishers in my age group. It is what it is. This race fits right in with how my race season has gone this year. I have two races remaining to close the season. A 10 Mile race on October 29th and a Thanksgiving Day 5k. My optimism is always renewed as a new race approaches. But as for today, I'm just glad it's over.
Race results: http://www.mtecresults.com/runner/show?rid=2217&race=4497
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Jeff Winter City of Lakes Half Marathon - September 11, 2016
So today is another opportunity to start and hopefully finish a race. I'm also directly at the height of my high mileage week's in preparation for next month's Twin Cities Marathon. I've successfully completed 3 - 20 mile training runs over the last 3 weeks, with one more scheduled for Saturday. My training has gone very well this summer. In fact it has gone so well, that my race performance issues have been very disappointing. Still not sure why my calf muscles have been causing me so many problems when running uptempo race pace. I've tried kinesiology tape, compression socks and other magic potions that supposedly minimize cramping issues, but nothing has worked so far. I fear that on the eve of my 60th birthday, age is likely the main factor. With no changes or issues with my training program, diet, or health otherwise, it seems like the age may be the only logical explanation remaining. I just don't want to accept that reason yet.
This half marathon is a two lap race around Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet as outlined on the map below. I've run this race twice before as a 25k (15 miles). A few years ago they changed the race to a standard half marathon. It was a sunny, 60 degree morning, buy strong winds were in the forecast. For the most part, the winds were not a factor until I reached the 10 mile mark. By then, the wind was starting to pick up from the south with intensity. I wanted to maintain a 7 minute mile pace in this race. But just couldn't hang onto that pace over the last few miles. But I did finish the race with no major issues. So the way this year has gone, I'm happy about that.
I finished with a chip time of 1:33:30. I ran about 30 seconds faster than my July half marathon, but still 2-4 minute slower than my top 10 half marathon times. My race pace was 7:09/mile vs. my 7:00 minute mile target. Over I finished 136th among 1,024 finishers and 8th among 45 in my age group. Today's race also doubled as the Minnesota Half Marathon Championship for 2016 and one of the USATF Minnesota Team Circuit events. So a very strong field of runners from all age groups turned out for today's race, which featured 5 new Minnesota age group records.
The next race on my calendar is the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon on October 9th. I feel good about my training mileage and training plan overall. Just not sure how my body will respond to the full marathon distance this year, considering my slower race times so far. Guess I will find out one way or the other, 4 weeks from today.
Results:
http://www.raceberryjam.com/2016/colmen.html
Monday, July 4, 2016
Red White and Boom Half Marathon - July 4, 2016
It's been over 11 weeks since my last race, but not by design. The left calf cramp/strain issues I experienced in my first two races took longer than I hoped to heal. I badly wanted to run the Medtronic TC 1 mile on May 12th, but decided to skip the race for precautionary reasons. My injury was much improved, but knowing the TC1 would be a short, fast, uptempo race, I just didn't want to risk blowing it out again.
My next scheduled race was the Minneapolis Half Marathon on June 5th. However the race was cancelled right before the event, due to a conflict with the race course permit. Apparently a section of the course was impacted by mudslide that happened several months ago and the city is still working on road repairs there. But it forced the city of Minneapolis to refuse approval of the course permit, asking that race organizers to come back with an alternative for that section of the course. Race organizers dragged their feet too long and eventually had no choice but to cancel the event. This was a large race impacting thousands of participants. I place full blame on the race organizers, as the city gave them more than enough time to find an alternative for the city to approve.
Which brings me to today's race. I registered for all my races in January. At that time, a 4th of July race sounded really nice and cozy. The weather was actually quite nice considering that heat and humidity is not foreign to even Minnesota this time of year. It was 64 degrees at the start of the race (6:30am) and about 70 degrees at the finish line (8:00am), with sunny sky's and light winds. This was an early morning race. A very early morning race. I got up at 4:30am, arrived at the race site by 5:30am and got warmed up and ready to go by 6:30am.
My left calf injury is feeling fine again now, however I didn't enter this race with a great deal of confidence. I was a bit worried that running again at race pace may potentially re-aggravate the injury, as it's been 11+ weeks since I've run extended miles at race pace. Not the confidence builder I am looking for coming into this race. I figured my best approach was to go out at a moderate half marathon pace initially and take it from there. The last thing I wanted to have happen is another calf aggravation early in the race and then have to gut it out for another 10 miles or so. If that happened, I figured I would likely drop out, rather than try to run uptempo for that distance, risking serious injury.
Today's race began near downtown Minneapolis on the along the Mississippi River on West River Parkway just west of the Stone Arch Bridge. From there, the course headed west on Plymouth Avenue, then north on Theodore Wirth Parkway. Then north and eventually east on Victory Memorial Drive back to the river. From there it followed the river south back to the finish line on the northeast end of the Stone Arch Bridge.
My intention was to run the first few miles at a moderate half marathon race pace around 7 minutes/mile, but my Garmin was registering an 8 minute mile pace across the first 3 miles. After 9 years of running, I have a good sense for what my pace is without the assistance of a Garmin and I felt like I was running 7 minute miles. By mile 3 I was so discouraged with my race pace that I just wanted to get tot he finish line and call it a day. Going into this race I had no aspirations of competing for one of my top half marathon times, but I also wasn't anticipating my race pace to be this slow either. I didn't realize that my Garmin was malfunctioning. I've never had problems with it in the 9 years I've used Garmin's. But for some reason, it chose to malfunction during my race today. My total time was spot on to the second with the race clock, but my Garmin was over-extending my mile splits early in the race, which is why my pace was registering slower than it actually was. In hindsight I should have questioned this, but I wrongly assumed it was accurate. I figured the 11 week race layoff had a bigger impact on my ability to race today than I expected.
Eventually, my Garmin began measuring miles correctly, but my overall distance and pace was messed up because of the early miles. When I crossed the finish line, my Garmin reflected a distance of 12.5 miles total vs. the 13.1 miles I actually ran. So my actual race time/pace was faster (7:11/mile) than I thought I was running, but still well off my top 10 half marathon times. I finished with a time of 1:33;58, good for 89th place among 2,266 finishers and 3rd in my age group among 68. It felt good to finally get another race under my belt, but I also want to get back to my true racing form. My time today was almost 4 minutes slower than average half marathon times. Hopefully I can get back on track in time for my next race which is also a half marathon - the Urban Wildland in Richfield on August 6th.
Results:
http://www.mtecresults.com/runner/show?race=4176&rid=1132
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Hot Chocolate 5k - April 16, 2016
The Hot Chocolate 5k falls into the same category as many current day running events. Events designed to appeal to the thousands upon thousands of runners who run for exercise, but may not necessarily consider themselves a competitive runner. Many are new to the sport, or simply enjoy getting together with a group of running friends to have a good time. These events advertise like crazy and offer "extras" to the participants like racing jackets etc. It works. Over 4,000 runners ran today's 5k event. Larger participant races are certainly more exciting to run than smaller events and are typically well organized to effectively manage the large number of participants, or major chaos would ensue. With these large participation races, there inevitably will be a group of competitive runners too. Just not the depth of race competition you find at more established "no frill" race events.
My Dad passed away last week and his funeral will take place later this afternoon. I debated all week if I should run this race. But the race was early morning and didn't interfere with family or funeral plans. It was a short race and one I had already registered for back in January. After much consideration, I decided it would be a good mental break for me, if just momentary. My training became secondary this week, as other priorities obviously took center stage. I was also coming off a two week cold/virus issue that hit me hard. This casual/fun race was probably just what I needed this morning and about all my body could handle, both mentally and physically.
It was a beautiful and unseasonably warm April morning in the Twin Cities. Sunny, 63 degrees, with a 10mph breeze. The race course utilized the same real-estate as my race last month. The course loops counter-clockwise around Boom and Nicollet Island by the Mississippi River, utilizing the Plymouth Avenue and Stone Arch bridges as the cross-overs. The last half mile of this 5k includes a steady climb toward the finish line, making for a tough finish.
As the race began, I settled into a nice pace. Runner traffic quickly thinned out and I soon felt like I was all alone as I approached the first mile marker. I ran a strong first mile (6:15) and I felt like I was in good position to run a competitive time today. I felt the same way in last month's race before popping a muscle in my left calf a little over half way through the race.
I was once again in survival mode, with the toughest mile remaining. Several times I tried to find a comfortable stride closer to my target race pace, but the pain was too severe. Some strides were tolerable, but other strides resulted in a shooting pain that took my breath away. I could feel myself slowing down more and more, just wishing the finish line was in sight. I was exhausted, as there was nothing positive going on to fuel my adrenaline and push myself through the final section of this race. I ran the third mile about 45 seconds slower than my first mile.
I finished with a time of 20:26, good for 10th place among 4,231 finishers overall and first in my age group of 50 runners. I obviously placed well among all runners, but this was not a highly competitive race. My race time was too slow to even crack my list of top 10 - 5k's. My next race is the Medtronic TC 1 Mile, the evening of May 12th. My left calf issue has now derailed both of my races this year. Hopefully I can work through this issue so it doesn't become a chronic issue that plagues my race season this year.
Results:
http://ramracing.enmotive.com/results/index/eventid?src=hc-city-landing-2&_ga=1.74077778.1517564399.1450896718
My Dad passed away last week and his funeral will take place later this afternoon. I debated all week if I should run this race. But the race was early morning and didn't interfere with family or funeral plans. It was a short race and one I had already registered for back in January. After much consideration, I decided it would be a good mental break for me, if just momentary. My training became secondary this week, as other priorities obviously took center stage. I was also coming off a two week cold/virus issue that hit me hard. This casual/fun race was probably just what I needed this morning and about all my body could handle, both mentally and physically.
It was a beautiful and unseasonably warm April morning in the Twin Cities. Sunny, 63 degrees, with a 10mph breeze. The race course utilized the same real-estate as my race last month. The course loops counter-clockwise around Boom and Nicollet Island by the Mississippi River, utilizing the Plymouth Avenue and Stone Arch bridges as the cross-overs. The last half mile of this 5k includes a steady climb toward the finish line, making for a tough finish.
As the race began, I settled into a nice pace. Runner traffic quickly thinned out and I soon felt like I was all alone as I approached the first mile marker. I ran a strong first mile (6:15) and I felt like I was in good position to run a competitive time today. I felt the same way in last month's race before popping a muscle in my left calf a little over half way through the race.
I found myself focusing on my fatigue during the second mile. Something that easily happens when you don't have much runner traffic around you to compete against and you find yourself running alone. I was almost across the Stone Arch Bridge, approaching the cobblestone section when the same muscle in my left calf popped again just before the two mile mark. Immediately my pace and tempo became all muddled up, as I tried to find a stride that minimized the sharp and sudden pain I was experiencing. Every time I tried to increase my speed, the pain forced me to slow back down. I ran a 6:30 second mile, 15 seconds slower than my first.
I was once again in survival mode, with the toughest mile remaining. Several times I tried to find a comfortable stride closer to my target race pace, but the pain was too severe. Some strides were tolerable, but other strides resulted in a shooting pain that took my breath away. I could feel myself slowing down more and more, just wishing the finish line was in sight. I was exhausted, as there was nothing positive going on to fuel my adrenaline and push myself through the final section of this race. I ran the third mile about 45 seconds slower than my first mile.
I finished with a time of 20:26, good for 10th place among 4,231 finishers overall and first in my age group of 50 runners. I obviously placed well among all runners, but this was not a highly competitive race. My race time was too slow to even crack my list of top 10 - 5k's. My next race is the Medtronic TC 1 Mile, the evening of May 12th. My left calf issue has now derailed both of my races this year. Hopefully I can work through this issue so it doesn't become a chronic issue that plagues my race season this year.
Results:
http://ramracing.enmotive.com/results/index/eventid?src=hc-city-landing-2&_ga=1.74077778.1517564399.1450896718
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Team Ortho Get Lucky 7k - March 12, 2016
The Get Lucky 7k officially kicked of my 2016 race season today. This is the 4th time I've run this race, having last run it in 2014. I couldn't have asked for better weather for a Minnesota race this time of year. Unseasonably warm (55 degrees at race time) with clear skies and an 8mph SSW breeze.
I had a clean, uneventful winter training wise. I got my miles in, with no injuries and no health related setbacks. I successfully completed 8 straight weeks of stride, tempo and ladder work as planned. So feeling good, feeling confident heading into the seasons first race. This will also be my last season running in the 50's age group as one of the old guys at 59. Next year I graduate to the 60's age group as one of the youngsters.
The Get Lucky is basically a "party theme/costume" race for many of the participants and the race distance (7k) is fairly non-standard as races go. But I really like this race for several reasons. First, the course is fair and relatively fast. There are two hill climbs, but not killer climbs. The last mile is a good finishing mile. Flat to slightly downhill. The worst part of the course is that the second mile is run on cobblestones. I don't like the cobblestones, so I try to run that section on the cement gutter near the curb. The other reason I like this race is the location. Downtown Minneapolis is more race friendly than Downtown St Paul with regard to parking locations near the start of a race.
The St. Patrick's Day theme brings out thousands of casual runners looking for a social event and a good time. But there are about 500 runners who actually run this race competitively. But it's the kind of race that doesn't attract any of the top runners around the state. It's important to start near the front, or you will find yourself stuck behind thousands of people dressed in varying degrees of green costume, who may have already used their free drink coupon before the start of the race. The race is chip timed for each runner, but failing to start near the front will be be a severe handicap, trying to fight through a never ending sea of slower runners who are simply there to have a good time. Don't get me wrong. The race participants are very nice, friendly people. They just have a different objective in mind for this race, which they are certainly entitled to. This is obviously why the race draws thousands of people each year.
Anyway, my race started out just fine. I completed the first two miles right on my 6:20/mile target pace and experienced no issues through the cobblestone section in mile two. However during the third mile I suffered a sudden and severe left calf strain, which immediately put me on the defensive. I shortened my stride out of necessity, while quickly evaluating how serious the injury was and how hard I could push the rest of the way without risking further damage. The pain was intense through mile three and I lost about 20 seconds to my per mile pace. By the time I got to mile four, the pain had subsided to a degree, or I was just getting used to the discomfort. I gave it my best effort, but was unable to recapture my original race pace again.
I finished with a time of 28:29, which is my slowest time among the 4 Get Lucky races I've now run. My best time (in 2014) was 51 seconds faster (27:38) and I haven't run slower that 28 minutes flat until today. I'm disappointed with my time, because I felt like I wasted a great opportunity to run a strong race on a beautiful, late winter day. I felt like I was in a position to challenge my best time in this race. But I realize the injury lead to my demise and I ran as well as I could considering the unexpected setback during the race.
I finished in 14th place overall among 6,045 finishers and 1st in my age group of 198 finishers. My next race is the Hot Chocolate 5k in Minneapolis on April 16th. This is another large participant event with a "fun" theme behind it. It's a relatively new race that fit my race calendar both from a timing standpoint as well as race distance I wanted to run next. Hopefully my calf strain will heal quickly and not bother me as the year progresses.
Race Results:
http://www.mtecresults.com/runner/show?rid=10760&race=3867
I had a clean, uneventful winter training wise. I got my miles in, with no injuries and no health related setbacks. I successfully completed 8 straight weeks of stride, tempo and ladder work as planned. So feeling good, feeling confident heading into the seasons first race. This will also be my last season running in the 50's age group as one of the old guys at 59. Next year I graduate to the 60's age group as one of the youngsters.
The Get Lucky is basically a "party theme/costume" race for many of the participants and the race distance (7k) is fairly non-standard as races go. But I really like this race for several reasons. First, the course is fair and relatively fast. There are two hill climbs, but not killer climbs. The last mile is a good finishing mile. Flat to slightly downhill. The worst part of the course is that the second mile is run on cobblestones. I don't like the cobblestones, so I try to run that section on the cement gutter near the curb. The other reason I like this race is the location. Downtown Minneapolis is more race friendly than Downtown St Paul with regard to parking locations near the start of a race.
The St. Patrick's Day theme brings out thousands of casual runners looking for a social event and a good time. But there are about 500 runners who actually run this race competitively. But it's the kind of race that doesn't attract any of the top runners around the state. It's important to start near the front, or you will find yourself stuck behind thousands of people dressed in varying degrees of green costume, who may have already used their free drink coupon before the start of the race. The race is chip timed for each runner, but failing to start near the front will be be a severe handicap, trying to fight through a never ending sea of slower runners who are simply there to have a good time. Don't get me wrong. The race participants are very nice, friendly people. They just have a different objective in mind for this race, which they are certainly entitled to. This is obviously why the race draws thousands of people each year.
Anyway, my race started out just fine. I completed the first two miles right on my 6:20/mile target pace and experienced no issues through the cobblestone section in mile two. However during the third mile I suffered a sudden and severe left calf strain, which immediately put me on the defensive. I shortened my stride out of necessity, while quickly evaluating how serious the injury was and how hard I could push the rest of the way without risking further damage. The pain was intense through mile three and I lost about 20 seconds to my per mile pace. By the time I got to mile four, the pain had subsided to a degree, or I was just getting used to the discomfort. I gave it my best effort, but was unable to recapture my original race pace again.
I finished with a time of 28:29, which is my slowest time among the 4 Get Lucky races I've now run. My best time (in 2014) was 51 seconds faster (27:38) and I haven't run slower that 28 minutes flat until today. I'm disappointed with my time, because I felt like I wasted a great opportunity to run a strong race on a beautiful, late winter day. I felt like I was in a position to challenge my best time in this race. But I realize the injury lead to my demise and I ran as well as I could considering the unexpected setback during the race.
I finished in 14th place overall among 6,045 finishers and 1st in my age group of 198 finishers. My next race is the Hot Chocolate 5k in Minneapolis on April 16th. This is another large participant event with a "fun" theme behind it. It's a relatively new race that fit my race calendar both from a timing standpoint as well as race distance I wanted to run next. Hopefully my calf strain will heal quickly and not bother me as the year progresses.
Race Results:
http://www.mtecresults.com/runner/show?rid=10760&race=3867
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