Nisswa Firecracker 10k - July 6, 2013

The Nisswa Firecracker race in northern Minnesota was a late entry to my race schedule this year.  I was considering a 10k race in Minneapolis, but last minute plans brought me up north to my son-in-laws family cabin for the weekend.  I took a peak to see if there might be a 10k race in the area that I could run Saturday morning.  The Nisswa race seemed to be a good option...the only 10k option in the area.  Nisswa also offered a 5k race, but my plan is to run a half marathon early next month, so stepping up from the 5k to the 10k distance made the most sense.

Race morning was 70 degrees, cloudy and humid, with rain about to roll in.  Runner turnout was far better than expected for a small town on a holiday weekend.  700 runners between the two races.  I checked in early, but shortly after I did, the check-in lines grew almost 2 blocks long.  As the start of the race approached, it became clear that with so many runners still in line, the start of the race would need to be delayed.  Unfortunately I had already warmed up anticipating the planned 8am start, so I tried to stay loose while waiting.  It was a 20 minute delay before they brought us to the start line.  Of course the race couldn't begin until they lit the official fireworks in the middle of the street!  The fuse wasn't cooperating for the individual trying to light it, but he eventually got it lit,  Then after the national anthem it was finally time for the race to start.

The course was advertised as very flat, with two dirt road sections accounting for about one mile of 6.2 mile course.  The race began well for me.  I felt loose and comfortable through the first mile which I ran in 6:30.  I ran the second mile in 6:25, however I began to discover that the flat course was not as flat as advertised.  There were no big hills or long climbs, but continuous rolling hills most of the way.  The dirt road sections were not too bad, but there were some loose sandy sections that hindered traction at times.

The rolling hills and humidity began to bother me over the next two miles and my pace began to suffer a bit, running 6:36 in mile 3 and 6:39 in mile 4.  Mile 4 became a bit of an obstacle course as the 10k and 5k races converged and shared the next half mile.  Most of the 5k runners had already passed through this section and now the 5k walkers were filling both sides of the road and posing challenges for 10k runners attempting to pass through them.

The last two miles where tough for me.  I wasn't dealing with the humidity very well and felt very tired and sluggish as a result.  This is where the race becomes as much a mental game as a physical game and I wasn't mentally tough today.  The 10k field had spread thin by this point and after passing a runner in mile 5, it looked unrealistic that I would be able to catch the next runner in front of me.  In cases like this I find myself settling for my current race place and simply trying to finish the race out.  But if a runner is within range of being caught, my adrenalin kicks in and I usually respond well in those situations.  In this case my last two miles were unfortunately my slowest (6:41, 6:47).  I'm always a bit disappointed when I can't maintain my target pace throughout the race.  At the same time this was not an easy course and the humid air did a number on me.

My 10k time was 40:02, finishing 13th out of 222 finishers and 2nd of 8 in my age group.  An okay, but not great race for me.  I was able to spend a quite moment sharing a pretzel with my granddaughter after the race, so all is good.  My next race, which I mentioned earlier, is a half marathon on August 3rd.  This will be another warm race most likely, but I will have another month of summer training under my belt.  Hoping this will allow me to handle the heat better than I did my last two races.  

Race Results:
https://www.racemine.com/Race-Place-Chip-Timing/Events/2013/Nisswa-Firecracker/results

Manitou Days 5k - June 14, 2013

It's been 7 long months since my last race on Thanksgiving Day.  No, I didn't give up running and no I haven't been laid up with an injury.  There were 5 other races this year I either entered to run or considered running.  But primarily due to inclement weather, I backed out of every one of them.  Maybe I've become a bit soft after 6 years of racing.  I used to race no matter what the weather was like, but to be honest, it's just not much fun when you are cold, wet and miserable before the race even starts.  With winter stretching into April this year, coupled with a very wet and cold start to summer, it's just not been a good racing year.  I did show up for a 5k race last month, but about an hour before the race began a major storm hit that dropped several inches of rain in just a few hours.  It was only 50 degrees that day and there was no way to adequately warm up before the race without becoming thoroughly drenched, cold and miserable before the horn even sounded.  Hard to run at a 5k pace when your muscles aren't loose and relaxed.

That brings me to today's race.  A small 5k in White Bear Lake that preludes their Manitou Day's parade in Downtown White Bear.  After all my talk about cold wet weather, I'm not going even considering complaining about the weather being warm for this race.  Most of my 60+ races have been morning races. This was just my third race held in the evening.  It was 79 degrees at race time, with some humidity due to a chance of rain.  I didn't think the warm temperature would bother me too much at a 5k distance.  It was also windy, so I figured the breeze would keep me cool enough. 

The first mile was a quick one mile counter clockwise loop that took us directly into the wind the first half mile and then with the wind over the second half.  I ran a 6:17 first mile which is right where I wanted to be.  The remainder of the race was primarily with the wind heading east through the downtown parade route and then following the White Bear Lake shoreline east to the finish.  As we ran through the downtown parade route I could feel my body start to overheat.  I was dressed appropriately for a warm race wearing a thin singlet, but the sudden change from cool to warm weather was a bigger shock to my body than what I expected.  My second mile slowed to a 6:33 - an indication I was not dealing with the heat and humidity very well. 

As the final mile began, I was really struggling with the heat.  I maintained my mile two pace, but felt sluggish, uncomfortable and basically "spent" the rest of the way.  I found myself looking at my garmin way too often to see how far I was from the finish line which wasn't coming up fast enough for me.  We then approached a left hand turn at the 2.8 mile mark.  Trying to stay mentally tough and push myself over the final 3 tenths of a mile, I made the turn and much to my surprise the finish line was suddenly just 50 yards in front of me.  The race clock was only showing 18 minutes and change when I crossed the line.  My garmin said the same thing.  The bad news was my garmin only showed 2.83 miles as the race distance instead of a true 5k distance of 3.10 miles.  For some reason the race distance was almost 3 tenths of a mile short, which explains my fantastic race time of 18:19 (about a minute and 15 seconds faster than my best 5k).  I wish I could claim the time as a legitimate 5k distance, but my actual race pace was 6:28 which translates to a 20:05 time for a 5k. 

After the race, a number of other runners were confirming the same thing, that the distance was about 3 tenths short based on their GPS watches and dramatically impacted their 5k race time from what they normally run.  The race director said the start line was moved due to road construction, but didn't think it shortened the race more than one tenth of a mile.  I'm afraid his estimate was off a bit. 

I finished 6th overall among 157 finishers and 1st among 13 men in my age group.

Race results:
http://www.frontrunnerusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/manitoudays5kresults20131.txt      

All in all, I was a bit disappointed that my overall pace translated to a 5k time over 20 minutes. I don't want to use the 7 month layoff from racing as an excuse. I still maintained a strong training regimen over the winter and kept myself in race shape as best I could. The 20 minute barrier is my personal goal to break every time I run a 5k.  If I do, I consider the race a success. I'm registered for 5 races of varying distances, now through October with Twin Cities Marathon as my big race for the year. Last year was the first year I didn't run a full marathon since I began running again in my 50's.  I was running 2 to 3 a year until 2012.  The marathon layoff feels a little scary, but I will deal with that later as the race approaches.  For now, I have other races to prepare for.  My next race is a 10k in July.

Dash and Dine 5k - November 22, 2012

It was a beautiful Thanksgiving morning with temperatures in the mid 50's, sunny skies and a 10mph breeze from the SW.   I note the race conditions for two reasons.  First, the conditions were much warmer (nicer) than average for this time of year in Minnesota.  But also because the conditions didn't last very long once the race was over.  By early afternoon a cold strong NW wind blew in icy rain that changed over to all snow by mid afternoon.  By end of day the temps were only in the mid teens.  It got ugly, but fortunately the timing of the morning race allowed for beautiful race conditions.

This was my first 5k race since last winter.  After a strong half marathon last month, I felt confident going into this race.  The course in Chisago City, MN was relatively flat and I was hoping to challenge my personal best at this distance.  This is a small race (about 300 runners), so congestion is not a problem.  As the race began I went out fast, running the first mile in 6:15.  I was well on my way to a great time, but during the early stages of mile two, my right calf muscle cramped badly.  I tried to relax and keep it loose, but the cramp was too strong and didn't want to relinquish.  I had to shorten my stride and gut it out from here.

My 2nd mile was about 15 seconds slower than my first mile due to the cramp.  With a little more than a mile to go, the calf muscle started to go numb.  I wanted to finish with a kick, but it was all I could do to maintain my pace with the cramping leg issue.  I finished with a time of 19:52 which was 14 seconds off my best 5k, but it was my second fastest 5k among the 11 that I've run.  Overall I finished 13th among 284 runners and 1st in my age group of 17.  I need to run more 5k's in warmer weather conditions.  Most of my 5k races have been winter runs.  My next race will be New Year's Day.  

Race Results:
http://www.frontrunnerusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/dashdine5kresults2012.txt