Hoska Midsummer Mile - July 8, 2015

This year the Hoska Midsummer Mile is Minnesota's USATF One Mile Championship and held on the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.  It's my first one mile race in 5 years.  I ran the 2010 Medtronic TC One Mile in Downtown Minneapolis and also run two indoor miles.  One in 2009 (Bethel University) and in 2010 (U of M Field-house).  This will be my 4th one mile race, but just my second outdoor one mile.

With my last 3 races all shorter distances (10k or less), I've been doing a lot of interval and speed work the past few months embedded within my 5 mile weekday morning runs.  For this race I've dedicated one workout per week that includes two interval miles at a 6:15/mile pace, with a half mile recovery in between.  Then another workout with four uptempo quarter mile splits at about 90 seconds each, with a quarter mile recovery in between.  A third workout consisted of 6 shorter (75 yard) strides or sprints near the end of a 5 mile run.  The remaining 3 workouts each week were standard 5 mile runs and one longer 10 mile run each week.  Once this race is behind me, my workouts will transition to higher mileage workouts, for my longer distance races coming up in August through October.  But I feel as prepared as I can be for this short one mile "sprint."

I could not have asked for better weather for a mid-July evening race in Minnesota.  Light winds, low humidity, with temps in the mid 70's at race time.  One thing that feels strange for me is the fact that this is a weekday evening race.  The Medtronic TC One Mile 5 years ago was also a weekday evening race.  But my training routing is all early morning based.  I think it's been almost 4 years since I've run even one workout after work on a weekday.  Running in the evening after work doesn't appeal to me.  I'm tired, hungry and ready to relax.  So I was curious and a little nervous to see how my body responds to a hard evening run.  I ran 3 easy miles this morning before heading to work.  After work, I drove directly to the fairgrounds for the race.  With this being the USATF One Mile Championship, I knew competition was going to smoke me for the most part.  But also knew it would help me run scared and hopefully not embarrass myself.  The course consisted of two laps around a small section of the fairgrounds main entrance (pictured below), with the start and finish one block apart on the north end of the loop.   

My best one mile time was indoors at the U of M (5:31) in 2010.  My best and only outdoor mile was same year at the Medtronic (5:48).  Knowing I'm 5 years older, but still feeling good, I would be thrilled to run 5:40 today, which is also the minimum national class standard for my age.  But 5:50 seemed the more likely scenario based on my Medtronic performance and the additional years.  As the race started, I tried to quickly find my pace.  Runner traffic was much more aggressive than what you see in longer races.  Here, runners were diving into each turn to gain the advantage, while trying to avoid getting boxed in.  The course was similar to a 600 meter rectangular track with 4 distinct turns vs the standard 400 oval meter track.  Lot of excitement and risk as each turn approached.  I had to be careful to avoid stepping on runners heals as well as being stepped on myself.

It seemed like this race should be easy on the one hand.  So short compared to most of my races.  Less than 6 minutes of pain.  Sure beats the 3+ hours of torture in a marathon  I can handle that no problem - right?  It's amazing how every race distance has it's own way of punishing the body.  In all races your body doesn't have enough oxygen to maintain the energy demand.  But the speed of oxygen depletion is so much more dramatic at faster speeds, to the point where lactate begins to pool in your muscles and you "bonk."  I found myself sucking air big time as I began my second lap.  But I was able to maintain a steady, even pace throughout the race.  Coming around the final turn with less than 300 hundreds yards to go, I was running on fumes like usual.  The finish was about 50 yards north of Dan Patch Ave, but the finish line always seems a lot further away when you get to that stage of the race where you just want it to be over.  I had trouble correctly interpreting my pace throughout the race, because I had to focus so closely on runner traffic through each of the 8 turns.  I was actually disappointed and discouraged running the last few hundred yards because I thought my pace was around 5:55.  I knew I was giving it everything I had and really expected a better time.  But as I approached the finish line and was able to see the race clock up ahead, I discovered I was much better off than I thought.

I crossed the finish line with a time of 5:38 and was absolutely thrilled.  I beat my stretch goal by two seconds and my 2010 Medtronic time by a full 10 seconds.  I finished 124th among all 303 finishers, 104th among 187 men and 16 of 37 in my (10 year) age group.  These 10 year age groups are rough on me.  All though nobody older than me finished ahead of me.  Of course Bobby Paxton (same age), beat me by 12 seconds.  But no surprise, as he's basically the top runner in the state for my age.

My next race is a 15k on August 16th, in St Paul.  Then a 20 mile race in September, followed by the Twin Cities Marathon in early October, a Half Marathon in late October, and finally a 5k on Thanksgiving Day morning to wrap up my season.  Lots of miles to log before we get there, but I'm in no hurry for summer to end, as short as it is in Minnesota.    

Race results:
http://www.mtecresults.com/runner/show?rid=857&race=3269

Brian Kraft Memorial 5k - May 25, 2015

The Brian Kraft Memorial 5k is a highly popular and competitive race around Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis and is always held on Memorial Day.  This is the first time I’ve run this race, but I’m very familiar with the race because it draws well known, accomplished runners on both the men’s and lady’s side.  

It was 61 degrees and cloudy at race time.  Overnight rains gave way to a light mist which ended about an hour before the race.  The parkway surrounding the lake was wet in spots, but no puddles, or precipitation to deal with during the race.  Winds were a non-factor as well, so conditions were good for a fast race.  The parkway around Lake Nokomis is flat, smooth and in great shape.  It’s been almost 6 years since I ran my best 5k time (19:38), but I felt good about the possibility of challenging that time today, based on how training has gone so far this spring. 

As the race began I made sure I didn’t make the mistake I made last race, where I became bottled up in runner traffic at the start and unable to immediately transition to my race pace.  With the fast competition, this wasn’t much of an issue, as the entire field took off and never looked back.  There were no gaps that developed between runners.  There were other runners always right there battling you for position.  This helped me tremendously.  Sometimes when gaps form between runners, you subconsciously relax your pace for a brief moment which can cost you valuable seconds. 

The picture above was around the half mile mark early in the race.  I ran the first mile in 6:10, but fatigue was setting in much quicker than the longer, slower paced races.  At the same time I kept telling myself this will be over quickly, keep fighting through the pain.  I clocked a 6:10 second mile as well.  At that point I knew I had a good time going and a great shot at beating my 6 year old 5k record.  But I knew I had to maintain my pace as fatigue was quickly wrapping it’s arms around me and squeezing tight.  The one thing that continued to help was the competition around me. 10 runners passed me during the race, but I passed 60 other runners from start to finish.  So I was steadily improving my position as the race progressed.  This helped me stay mentally positive with each runner I passed.

With 1 mile to go I saw Kirt Goetzke about 10 yards in front of me.  Kirt is 4 years younger than me and well known among the local road scene because Kirt virtually runs every race in town, every weekend and runs them well.  I’ve never beaten him in a road race of any distance to this point and that covers a lot of races.  Kirt passed me about a half mile into the race as he always does and I assumed that would be the last I would see of him.  But with one mile to go I now had new motivation to fuel my finish.  With about ¾ of a mile to go, I pulled even with him and then passed him.  Now I was running scared, hoping I wouldn’t see his back again until I crossed the finish line. The last half mile clicked by very slowly, but eventually the finish line was within sight and Kirt was still behind me.

I ran a 6:00 flat 3^rd mile and finished the 3.1 mile distance with a time of 19:04, shattering my best 5k time of 6 years ago by a full 34 seconds.  Kirt finished 4 seconds behind me.  This may be the only time I ever beat him in a race, but at least I can say I did it once.  Overall I finished 174 among 465 finishers and 13 of 55 in my 10 year age group.  Although nobody older than me finished ahead of me.  All these young 50 year olds beating me now, but seriously, this was one of the strongest race fields I've competed against and overall times were fantastic.  In fact looking at race results from today, 213 of the 465 finishers ran under 20 minutes.  That’s 46% of the field!  That's crazy good.  But it’s also competitive fields like this that bring out the best in most runners and it brought out the best in me today. My race results reflect my gun time 19:10 and chip time (from start line to finish line) of 19:04.  I also beat the "tougher" revised 2015 national standard time for this distance by about 30 seconds for my age.  Very happy and pleasantly surprised with how things turned out today.  

My next race is a one miler on the State Fairgrounds, the evening of July 8.  I'm not used to evening races after working all day and it will be 5 years since my last one mile race.  So interested to see how this one goes.  More speed training this month for the short race, while I also begin to ramp up my overall mileage for longer distance races in September/October.               

Race Results:
http://www.mtecresults.com/runner/show?rid=401&race=3131

Get in Gear 10k - April 25, 2015

The Get in Gear 10k was my 16^th 10k race, but this was my first 10k during prime racing season in a number of years.  I was really looking forward to this one.  The Get in Gear event is one of the most popular events in town, with a long history.  It draws large numbers of runners from all age groups as well as top talent each year.  3 years ago I ran the Get in Gear Half, but today it’s the 10k which is their most popular and highest participation distance. 

The race began at Minnehaha Park, near the Mississippi River on West River Parkway.  From there it headed north to the Lake Street Bridge.  Then across the bridge into St. Paul, where it headed south on East Mississippi River Boulevard.  Then back onto the Minneapolis side via the Ford Bridge.  The race ends in Minnehaha Park where it began.  The course is relatively flat, but for a brief, but challenging climb about half way through the race near Summit on the St. Paul side.  I’m very familiar with much of the course, as many races including the Twin Cities Marathon utilize major portions of this course.

It was a good day for racing, with temps around 45, cloudy skies and an 8mph wind from the east.  I did make a major rookie mistake at the start that cost me time though.  I didn't realize it until the race began, but I positioned myself too far back in the starting corral.  I crossed the starting line in 423rd place and had significant difficulty fighting my way through slower traffic until I could settle into my race.  This went on through the first quarter mile, when I noticed my pace was about 2 minutes slower than desired. 

Here's a video of the start... 
https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=967279096824693A&id=967279096824693a%2128321&v=3&authkey=%21AOKqsQF2vtz39RY

Runner traffic slowly began to thin, but in a bit of a panic now, I had to resort to a more aggressive “slalom” strategy, zigzagging in and around approximately 250 runners, until I eventually could run at my race pace.  When all was said and done, I clocked a 6:45 first mile, but that was about 20 seconds slower than I wanted to run, as I wasted valuable energy trying to pass so many runners in the first half mile, while trying to make up lost time over the second half of same mile.  I know better than to put myself in that kind of predicament, but today I just didn't do a good job properly sizing up my location the starting corral and paid for it.

Once I got through first mile congestion, I was able to run my race and lengthen my stride.  My per mile pace improved throughout the race, with my final two miles just under a 6:20/mile pace.  I finished with a time of 40:26, placing 162 among 2,665 finishers.  I placed 7th, among 110 finishers in my age group.  As mentioned earlier, this was a top talent race, as I'm very familiar with the 6 runners that finished ahead of me in my age class.  They represent some of the top runners in the state in my age group.  I was happy to finish less than a minute behind 3 of the 6 and had it not been for my first mile, I may have been able to break 40 minutes today.  But no excuses, I did my best today and happy with the result.

Finish video:
http://www.mtecresults.com/runner/videoResults?rid=665&race=2970

Race Results:
http://www.mtecresults.com/runner/show?rid=665&race=2970

I beat the current national class minimum age group standard for my age group, however I've come to find out that the World Masters Athletics age group standards, which are also recognized by the USATF organization as "the official" standard, is updating their age group charts this year.  The new standards are available in some locations now.  Using the new standards I came up 15 seconds shy of a national class time, which makes me reflect back on my race mistakes in the first mile.  Bottom line, I'm going to need to run faster if I want to achieve the new national class standards.  The old standards have been in place since 2009.  Masters runners continue to improve, which in turn raises the standard across all age group categories.

My next race is a 5k on Memorial Day Monday at Lake Nokomis.  Looking forward to that race as well, as I normally don't run 5k's in the middle of the race season, so hoping for good weather and a good time!