Race: Pumpkin Chase 5K
Date: October 17, 2015
Location: Wilmerding, PA
Time: 25:17
Overall Rank: X out of XX
Age Group Rank: 2 out of X
Results: http:
I pretty much knew after the first mile that this would be a tough run. I was more out of breath than normal. Had a good time with Dan, though, and we ended up being the second and third place winners overall. (Small race = not many fast runners)
Saturday, October 17, 2015
Saturday, September 19, 2015
Air Force Marathon
Race: Air Force Marathon
Date: September 19, 2015
Location: Dayton, OH
Time: 4:54.47
Overall Rank: X out of XX
Age Group Rank: 99 out of 183
Results: http:
This was my first full marathon. It was enjoyable enough that I think I’ll do a marathon again. I am so relieved! My main goal was to simply finish all 26.2 miles, but I did have a finish time in mind: 4:30:00. My actual performance was 4:54:47. I’m still very happy with this. Here’s the run-down:
Miles 0-3: I ran with Kendra. She was completing her first 10K race at the same time as my first marathon. Our routes followed the same path for the first 3 miles, so we ran together. I loved it. I am so happy to be her step-dad. Meanwhile, I felt strong on the first and only big hill of the route.
Mile 1: A man passed us by and apologized for drafting off my calves. He is not the first to tell me I have big calves. I took it as a compliment and ran a little stronger for the next half mile.
Mile 4: Another man asked me where my younger companion was. I explained Kendra was doing the 10K and her mom was doing the half-marathon. I was proud of my athlete family.
Miles 5-6: A smaller hill to climb. Others were saying “oh no, not another hill,” and I was thinking “I’ve trained in Pittsburgh; I’ve got this!”
Mile 6: I was running at a 9:48 mile/min pace, which was 3.5% faster than the median runner (male, female, young, old). In other words, I was running just above the average of 2,156 marathon participants.
Miles 7-13: There are official pace runners who hold signs telling others what time they intend to be finished with the race. I started the race with the 4:30 pace runner but steadily gained on the ones ahead of her. It was at mile 7 that I came up behind the 3:55 pace runner I decided to slow down and run with her (and a bunch of others doing the same thing). She was chatty and optimistic and doing a great job of keeping people in good mental and physical condition. I did begin to tire of hearing her say “don’t forget to hydrate!” after the 47th time.
Miles 8-10: These were the most fun miles because the course ran down the main street of the town of Fairborn, Ohio. Lots of people cheered us on, including lots of kids holding signs that read: “Touch here for power!” I made an effort to touch every one of those signs and high-five everyone who held their hand out. This energized me. I also felt very safe, given that snipers were on rooftops and giant snow plows were positioned at crossroads to keep terrorists from entering the town. Gees!
Mile 13: I was running at a 9:54 mile/min pace, which was 7.5% faster than the median runner . In other words, I was running slightly slower than before, but a little faster than average; everyone was slowing down, but I was slowing down less. And I was starting to feel it. It was becoming hard work to keep up with the 3:55 pace runner and I decided at mile 12 that I would ease off the gas at the half-way mark (13.1 miles). The chatty woman’s conversation faded into the distance as I drifted farther back.
Miles 14-16: I was starting to feel fatigued. I had been going too fast early in the race and now I was paying for it. (I do this on every race!). On my long training runs during the previous weeks, I had always found it necessary to walk after some distance past mile 14. I wanted to run the entire 26.2 miles today, but I knew that was unlikely based on past performance. I reasoned with myself that I should be able to do at least another 5K past the half-way point. So I went on, passing a surprising number of people who had started to walk at this point, including a striped-shirted young man who has sped past me at mile 6.
Mile 17: This was the point where I had given myself permission to start walking, but I felt I had another mile in me. I kept running.
Miles 18-20: At mile 18 I stopped to walk for 2 minutes. I was not out of breath. My heart rate was elevated but not abnormally so. I was well-hydrated. I was eating energy gels, bananas, and Stinger waffles, but still hungry…in fact, very hungry. I frankly don’t remember why I needed to stop running and walk for two minutes. Maybe it was the knowledge that I had 8 miles to go (uggh!). Or maybe it was the pain in my left foot that was getting progressively worse with every step. Regardless, I walked for 2 minutes and then started again. The first few running steps after walking were painful throughout my legs. It felt like a sputtering engine trying to get started again after months of inactivity.
Miles 21-22: At mile 21 I stopped running and walked another 2 minutes. I should have been thinking how close I was to the finish line (5 miles isn’t that much, relatively speaking), but instead, I calculated in my head how much time it would take to cover the distance (possibly more than an hour! Uggh). At this point I was running at a 10:37 mile/min pace, which was 8.8% faster than the median runner. In other words, I was running a lot slower now due to the walking intervals, but still faster than average; most runners were integrating walking segments into their runs, and I was doing so a little less than average.
Miles 23-24: At the mile 23 marker I stopped to walk for 4 minutes. At mile marker 24 I stopped to walk for 5 minutes. People were dropping like flies. They were stopping to stretch, walk, and commiserate. A husband told his wife “You beat me. I won’t make it. I’m sorry.” Another person lay on the ground, completely beaten. The stripe-shirt guy and I were alternately passing one another as he would start walking while I ran past, and then he would pass me when I stopped to walk. It was hard to keep happy at this point.
Mile 25: At this point my leg muscles (calves, thighs) were starting to cramp and I lost flexibility in my stride. I was barely running. At least in my mind, I was running for 5 minute periods and then stopping to walk for 5 minutes. Maybe my body was going at the same speed during my walk and run segments, but I was somehow proud of myself for at least attempting to run each time. I remember Kendra had told me to start running before the finish line to give the impression I was still going strong. Fortunately, when I saw Shannan, Shannan’s dad, and Kendra alongside the course before the mile 26 marker I was in the midst of my 5-min running segments. I smiled at them as I “ran” past. My body was really hurting, but it doesn’t take much effort to smile. My mind was still calm and collected.
Mile 26: I knew I had made it when I got to the Mile 26 marker. The finish line was in view and there was just 0.2 miles left. I was “running,” but this amounted to just a shuffling of cramped-up legs. Emotions hit me and I became aware of great pains in my body. I muttered aloud to myself “Ignore it! Ignore it!” I started to get tears in my eyes and as I tried to hold them back, the angst had to go somewhere and it lodged in my lungs, causing me to have the most serious bout of asthma I ever remember having in adulthood. At the finish line, I was not looking for Shannan. Instead, I was looking for a medic to help me breath. But then Shannan was there with a great smile and my asthma disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Emotions are such a strange thing, so integrated with the body’s physiology!
Finished! I finished in 4:54:47 with a pace of 11:16 min/mile. This was 4.9% faster than the average runner, but 5.1% slower than the average male in the 40-44 age group (I ranked 99 out of 183). All things considered, this was a great first attempt and I now have a personal best to try to break the next time.
Date: September 19, 2015
Location: Dayton, OH
Time: 4:54.47
Overall Rank: X out of XX
Age Group Rank: 99 out of 183
Results: http:
This was my first full marathon. It was enjoyable enough that I think I’ll do a marathon again. I am so relieved! My main goal was to simply finish all 26.2 miles, but I did have a finish time in mind: 4:30:00. My actual performance was 4:54:47. I’m still very happy with this. Here’s the run-down:
Miles 0-3: I ran with Kendra. She was completing her first 10K race at the same time as my first marathon. Our routes followed the same path for the first 3 miles, so we ran together. I loved it. I am so happy to be her step-dad. Meanwhile, I felt strong on the first and only big hill of the route.
Mile 1: A man passed us by and apologized for drafting off my calves. He is not the first to tell me I have big calves. I took it as a compliment and ran a little stronger for the next half mile.
Mile 4: Another man asked me where my younger companion was. I explained Kendra was doing the 10K and her mom was doing the half-marathon. I was proud of my athlete family.
Miles 5-6: A smaller hill to climb. Others were saying “oh no, not another hill,” and I was thinking “I’ve trained in Pittsburgh; I’ve got this!”
Mile 6: I was running at a 9:48 mile/min pace, which was 3.5% faster than the median runner (male, female, young, old). In other words, I was running just above the average of 2,156 marathon participants.
Miles 7-13: There are official pace runners who hold signs telling others what time they intend to be finished with the race. I started the race with the 4:30 pace runner but steadily gained on the ones ahead of her. It was at mile 7 that I came up behind the 3:55 pace runner I decided to slow down and run with her (and a bunch of others doing the same thing). She was chatty and optimistic and doing a great job of keeping people in good mental and physical condition. I did begin to tire of hearing her say “don’t forget to hydrate!” after the 47th time.
Miles 8-10: These were the most fun miles because the course ran down the main street of the town of Fairborn, Ohio. Lots of people cheered us on, including lots of kids holding signs that read: “Touch here for power!” I made an effort to touch every one of those signs and high-five everyone who held their hand out. This energized me. I also felt very safe, given that snipers were on rooftops and giant snow plows were positioned at crossroads to keep terrorists from entering the town. Gees!
Mile 13: I was running at a 9:54 mile/min pace, which was 7.5% faster than the median runner . In other words, I was running slightly slower than before, but a little faster than average; everyone was slowing down, but I was slowing down less. And I was starting to feel it. It was becoming hard work to keep up with the 3:55 pace runner and I decided at mile 12 that I would ease off the gas at the half-way mark (13.1 miles). The chatty woman’s conversation faded into the distance as I drifted farther back.
Miles 14-16: I was starting to feel fatigued. I had been going too fast early in the race and now I was paying for it. (I do this on every race!). On my long training runs during the previous weeks, I had always found it necessary to walk after some distance past mile 14. I wanted to run the entire 26.2 miles today, but I knew that was unlikely based on past performance. I reasoned with myself that I should be able to do at least another 5K past the half-way point. So I went on, passing a surprising number of people who had started to walk at this point, including a striped-shirted young man who has sped past me at mile 6.
Mile 17: This was the point where I had given myself permission to start walking, but I felt I had another mile in me. I kept running.
Miles 18-20: At mile 18 I stopped to walk for 2 minutes. I was not out of breath. My heart rate was elevated but not abnormally so. I was well-hydrated. I was eating energy gels, bananas, and Stinger waffles, but still hungry…in fact, very hungry. I frankly don’t remember why I needed to stop running and walk for two minutes. Maybe it was the knowledge that I had 8 miles to go (uggh!). Or maybe it was the pain in my left foot that was getting progressively worse with every step. Regardless, I walked for 2 minutes and then started again. The first few running steps after walking were painful throughout my legs. It felt like a sputtering engine trying to get started again after months of inactivity.
Miles 21-22: At mile 21 I stopped running and walked another 2 minutes. I should have been thinking how close I was to the finish line (5 miles isn’t that much, relatively speaking), but instead, I calculated in my head how much time it would take to cover the distance (possibly more than an hour! Uggh). At this point I was running at a 10:37 mile/min pace, which was 8.8% faster than the median runner. In other words, I was running a lot slower now due to the walking intervals, but still faster than average; most runners were integrating walking segments into their runs, and I was doing so a little less than average.
Miles 23-24: At the mile 23 marker I stopped to walk for 4 minutes. At mile marker 24 I stopped to walk for 5 minutes. People were dropping like flies. They were stopping to stretch, walk, and commiserate. A husband told his wife “You beat me. I won’t make it. I’m sorry.” Another person lay on the ground, completely beaten. The stripe-shirt guy and I were alternately passing one another as he would start walking while I ran past, and then he would pass me when I stopped to walk. It was hard to keep happy at this point.
Mile 25: At this point my leg muscles (calves, thighs) were starting to cramp and I lost flexibility in my stride. I was barely running. At least in my mind, I was running for 5 minute periods and then stopping to walk for 5 minutes. Maybe my body was going at the same speed during my walk and run segments, but I was somehow proud of myself for at least attempting to run each time. I remember Kendra had told me to start running before the finish line to give the impression I was still going strong. Fortunately, when I saw Shannan, Shannan’s dad, and Kendra alongside the course before the mile 26 marker I was in the midst of my 5-min running segments. I smiled at them as I “ran” past. My body was really hurting, but it doesn’t take much effort to smile. My mind was still calm and collected.
Mile 26: I knew I had made it when I got to the Mile 26 marker. The finish line was in view and there was just 0.2 miles left. I was “running,” but this amounted to just a shuffling of cramped-up legs. Emotions hit me and I became aware of great pains in my body. I muttered aloud to myself “Ignore it! Ignore it!” I started to get tears in my eyes and as I tried to hold them back, the angst had to go somewhere and it lodged in my lungs, causing me to have the most serious bout of asthma I ever remember having in adulthood. At the finish line, I was not looking for Shannan. Instead, I was looking for a medic to help me breath. But then Shannan was there with a great smile and my asthma disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Emotions are such a strange thing, so integrated with the body’s physiology!
Finished! I finished in 4:54:47 with a pace of 11:16 min/mile. This was 4.9% faster than the average runner, but 5.1% slower than the average male in the 40-44 age group (I ranked 99 out of 183). All things considered, this was a great first attempt and I now have a personal best to try to break the next time.
Saturday, August 29, 2015
SVC alumni 5K
Race: 5k run
Date: August 29, 2015
Location: Latrobe, PA
Time: 25:19
Overall Rank: X out of XX
Age Group Rank: X out of X
Results: http:
I did pretty well on legs that were still stiff from my long run 3 days before. Shannan and Kendra did it with me, so that added some fun!
Date: August 29, 2015
Location: Latrobe, PA
Time: 25:19
Overall Rank: X out of XX
Age Group Rank: X out of X
Results: http:
I did pretty well on legs that were still stiff from my long run 3 days before. Shannan and Kendra did it with me, so that added some fun!
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Presque Isle Sprint Triathlon
Race: Presque Isle Sprint Triathlon
Date: August 23, 2015
Location: Erie, PA
Time:
Overall Rank: X out of XX
Age Group Rank: X out of X
Results: http:
My first and only triathlon for 2015 is in the books. I went up to Erie with Daniel Pruzinsky to compete in the Presque Isle Triathlon. This was the 4th time we've done this race. The day was absolutely perfect for racing: clear skies, air temperature in the upper 60s, calm wind, flat water. About 30 min before the start of the race, I had what i thought would be a good omen. A green tree frog the size of a fingernail fell onto my head and then onto my arm, and just sat there, grinning, for 10 minutes while I admired it, showed it to people, talked gently to it, and then walked it to a safe place out of the way of the race course. This soothed my mood and made me happy. Later, we entered the water and started the swim. I took off very fast and felt really good during the first third of the swim (total length = 616 yards). However, after rounding the first buoy I began to lose my breath. The wet suit can be constrictive and the colder water temperature (74 degrees) didn't help. I lost my cool and stopped swimming for about a minute. I treaded water and watched half my age group swim past me in their green swim caps. A life guard in a kayak asked if I needed assistance and I shook my head. I just had to catch my breath and push past the mental inertia of staying put. I began swimming again, but stopped a couple more times for shorter periods to calm down. I don't know what happened to me there in the water, but I had started out feeling so good and now I was feeling lost and defeated. Sports performance of all kinds is dependent on a combination of mental and physical preparedness. I think what happened here is that I knew deep down that I was not physically prepared for this swim, but in the first few minutes of the swim I was making use of several years' worth of experience to mentally get through it. Eventually, my mind realized that despite "feeling good," my body was not trained for this swim, and then I panicked and stopped swimming. You see, I have only swum 7 miles within the last 5 months. Before I got busy moving into a new house and getting married, I was averaging 10 miles of swimming per month. OK, so with my swim over, I psyched myself up for the bike ride and did well. I averaged 21.6 mph on the bike during the 13-mile loop. Then I ran 3.5 miles at a 8:37 minute/mile pace. My bike performance was slightly down from 21.8 mph last year, but was still quite reasonable for a lack of training (only 24 miles in the last 2 months, compared to a typical level of 100 miles per month). My run was satisfactory. It was slower than last year but not by too much. I actually have been doing a lot of running lately, and I just set a personal best in a 5K a few weeks ago. Nevertheless, my disappointing swim was still in the back of my mind and there was little reason to push myself harder during the run segment. I always sound a little negative about my races when I write about them, but all is well. I finished 10th out of 20 in my age group and 94th out of 378 competitors. This is great for being so out of shape, coming off a wedding and honeymoon, and recovering from a head cold. I had a lot of fun and I am enthusiastic about beginning earnest training for next year's races.
Date: August 23, 2015
Location: Erie, PA
Time:
Overall Rank: X out of XX
Age Group Rank: X out of X
Results: http:
My first and only triathlon for 2015 is in the books. I went up to Erie with Daniel Pruzinsky to compete in the Presque Isle Triathlon. This was the 4th time we've done this race. The day was absolutely perfect for racing: clear skies, air temperature in the upper 60s, calm wind, flat water. About 30 min before the start of the race, I had what i thought would be a good omen. A green tree frog the size of a fingernail fell onto my head and then onto my arm, and just sat there, grinning, for 10 minutes while I admired it, showed it to people, talked gently to it, and then walked it to a safe place out of the way of the race course. This soothed my mood and made me happy. Later, we entered the water and started the swim. I took off very fast and felt really good during the first third of the swim (total length = 616 yards). However, after rounding the first buoy I began to lose my breath. The wet suit can be constrictive and the colder water temperature (74 degrees) didn't help. I lost my cool and stopped swimming for about a minute. I treaded water and watched half my age group swim past me in their green swim caps. A life guard in a kayak asked if I needed assistance and I shook my head. I just had to catch my breath and push past the mental inertia of staying put. I began swimming again, but stopped a couple more times for shorter periods to calm down. I don't know what happened to me there in the water, but I had started out feeling so good and now I was feeling lost and defeated. Sports performance of all kinds is dependent on a combination of mental and physical preparedness. I think what happened here is that I knew deep down that I was not physically prepared for this swim, but in the first few minutes of the swim I was making use of several years' worth of experience to mentally get through it. Eventually, my mind realized that despite "feeling good," my body was not trained for this swim, and then I panicked and stopped swimming. You see, I have only swum 7 miles within the last 5 months. Before I got busy moving into a new house and getting married, I was averaging 10 miles of swimming per month. OK, so with my swim over, I psyched myself up for the bike ride and did well. I averaged 21.6 mph on the bike during the 13-mile loop. Then I ran 3.5 miles at a 8:37 minute/mile pace. My bike performance was slightly down from 21.8 mph last year, but was still quite reasonable for a lack of training (only 24 miles in the last 2 months, compared to a typical level of 100 miles per month). My run was satisfactory. It was slower than last year but not by too much. I actually have been doing a lot of running lately, and I just set a personal best in a 5K a few weeks ago. Nevertheless, my disappointing swim was still in the back of my mind and there was little reason to push myself harder during the run segment. I always sound a little negative about my races when I write about them, but all is well. I finished 10th out of 20 in my age group and 94th out of 378 competitors. This is great for being so out of shape, coming off a wedding and honeymoon, and recovering from a head cold. I had a lot of fun and I am enthusiastic about beginning earnest training for next year's races.
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Turtle Trot
Race: 5K run
Date: July 25, 2015
Location: Turtle Creek, PA
Time: 23:56
Overall Rank: 41 out of 166
Age Group Rank: 3 out of 14
Results: http://www.runhigh.com/2015RESULTS/R072515BB.html
This is a PR for me. I have not had a faster 5K time on any race course. So, this was a great run! The Turtle Trot is full of fast runners so I started off faster than was comfortable. In the first mile, I was running next to someone who expected to finish in 22 minutes. At mile 1, I was running a 7:15 min/mile pace, and I knew this was not sustainable so I let myself slow down a little, but it was kind of too late--I had already spent too much energy and had trouble crossing the finish line without puking. I avoided such spectacle, but it was close.
Date: July 25, 2015
Location: Turtle Creek, PA
Time: 23:56
Overall Rank: 41 out of 166
Age Group Rank: 3 out of 14
Results: http://www.runhigh.com/2015RESULTS/R072515BB.html
This is a PR for me. I have not had a faster 5K time on any race course. So, this was a great run! The Turtle Trot is full of fast runners so I started off faster than was comfortable. In the first mile, I was running next to someone who expected to finish in 22 minutes. At mile 1, I was running a 7:15 min/mile pace, and I knew this was not sustainable so I let myself slow down a little, but it was kind of too late--I had already spent too much energy and had trouble crossing the finish line without puking. I avoided such spectacle, but it was close.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Under the Lights 5000m
Race: Under the Lights 5K
Date: June 17, 2015
Location: Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rick, PA
Time: 24:30
Overall Rank: 11 out of 13
Age Group Rank: 1 out of 1
Results: http:
Shannan and I did a 5000m race on the track at Slippery Rock University at 9:30pm last night with 13 other runners. So it was us and about 10 university students who ran 5-6 min/mile paces. But we did beat one high school kid who quit early, and one other person our age who miscounted and didn't do the full number of laps. This wasn't my best time, but it was close enough to feel good about.
Date: June 17, 2015
Location: Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rick, PA
Time: 24:30
Overall Rank: 11 out of 13
Age Group Rank: 1 out of 1
Results: http:
Shannan and I did a 5000m race on the track at Slippery Rock University at 9:30pm last night with 13 other runners. So it was us and about 10 university students who ran 5-6 min/mile paces. But we did beat one high school kid who quit early, and one other person our age who miscounted and didn't do the full number of laps. This wasn't my best time, but it was close enough to feel good about.
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Pittsburgh Half Marathon
Race: 13.1 mile run
Date: May 3, 2015
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Time: 1:53.13
Overall Rank: 2214 out of 14576
Age Group Rank: 163 out of 627
Results: http://results.xacte.com/?mid=79#
Miles 1-4 were easy but then I started to wonder if we were going at a sustainable pace. We were going at a 8:27 pace and that felt good but I knew there were many more miles to go. I was already starting to feel calorie-deprived or dehydrated (my breathing was good, my legs were fine, but I just didn't feel right). At mile 9, I got grouchy with Dan and told him I didn't care what our pace was...but then I asked what it was. At mile 11, I was lightheaded and groggy, so much so that I wondered what it would be like if I stumbled and fell to the ground. I decided I wouldn't do that, if possible. At mile 12, I knew I'd be ok, because we were almost done and the course was heading downhill. In fact, the last half mile was exhilarating as we picked up our pace and I seemed to float around on feet that no longer felt attached to my body. I set a personal best, lowering my time by 105 seconds under last year. It's not a big difference, but since my training was about the same as last year, it is reasonable to expect a pretty similar finish time.
Date: May 3, 2015
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Time: 1:53.13
Overall Rank: 2214 out of 14576
Age Group Rank: 163 out of 627
Results: http://results.xacte.com/?mid=79#
Miles 1-4 were easy but then I started to wonder if we were going at a sustainable pace. We were going at a 8:27 pace and that felt good but I knew there were many more miles to go. I was already starting to feel calorie-deprived or dehydrated (my breathing was good, my legs were fine, but I just didn't feel right). At mile 9, I got grouchy with Dan and told him I didn't care what our pace was...but then I asked what it was. At mile 11, I was lightheaded and groggy, so much so that I wondered what it would be like if I stumbled and fell to the ground. I decided I wouldn't do that, if possible. At mile 12, I knew I'd be ok, because we were almost done and the course was heading downhill. In fact, the last half mile was exhilarating as we picked up our pace and I seemed to float around on feet that no longer felt attached to my body. I set a personal best, lowering my time by 105 seconds under last year. It's not a big difference, but since my training was about the same as last year, it is reasonable to expect a pretty similar finish time.
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