Burbank YMCA 5K Classic

Burbank YMCA 5K Classic
Wakefield, MA
Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008

Lori T., Frankie, Kimmie, and Thor at the Burbank YMCA 5K After Party!

After a night of putting away several pints (who am I kidding, they were “big boy” 24 oz’ers!) of Fosters in celebration of all things Down Under at the Outback, I toed the line of my second 5K of the year and second in 3 weeks in down-right brutal windy and way-too cold air. Race time temperatures were 20F, maybe a little higher, but much colder to the feel with the brisk wind of, maybe, 25 mph. All of this was actually good for me since it completely allowed me to check expectations at the registration table and just get out there and have fun — and get in a quality workout. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t give it my all; just meant it would be carefree. A major bonus was bumping into MasterOfSomething, who kindly offered his assistance in helping put on the race.

So with a brutal wind holding temperatures below 20F, the countdown began to start the race. Bang! With that 200 (?) runners pushed forward into the cold and wind, very slow conditions.

Having had a good enough warmup, my legs were actually moving very well right away. I got off the line fast, jockied around a few, gave an elbow here and there, and found myself a minute in right behind the lead pack with one guy, the eventual winner, in a league of his own already way out in front. The guy in front gave a glance back at the first turn, about a quarter mile in, and wasn’t seen again. Meanwhile, the lead pack of 4 held sturdy with a strong pace.

By mile one, I worked my way around another runner into 6th place, with noboby between me and the lead pack of 4. The first place guy was now far from memory, as he was gone. This stretch was due into the wind. My hands grew cold, as I tucked them inside my gloves and punched on.

Between miles one and two I made a tactical decision to stay compact and focused and try in a controlled manner to catch the lead pack. I knew I had about a 2% chance of actually doing it, but I figure it would start to blow up in a short time.

By mile two, now with the wind squarely at our backs, I saw a guy from the pack start to drop back. I knew I had him. Just as it motivated me to think that I might be able to pick off yet another from that pack and possibly move into 4th place, I heard feet stomping behind me. At first I thought it was my hometown buddy, Fast Frankie, who to my surprise I hadn’t yet seen. Fast Frankie is the guy who passed me at mile 2 in the last 5K I did and held on for a 10 second lead.

Just then the stomping behind me made a move. In the end, it wasn’t Fast Frankie. Rather, it was another guy. And when he made his move, he did it with authority, turning up the pace and blowing by me even though I hadn’t slowed at all. Somehow I knew his pass was too much.

So now I was in 7th place. As this was happening, I came upon the guy who dropped from the lead pack to pull even with 6th place. While all of this was happening, I heard behind me the soft efficient footfalls of none other than Fast Frankie. Sure enough, it was him.

Now running together, Fast Frankie and I pushed through mile 3, passed the guy who had passed with authority earlier, and the right at the 3 mile mark passed the guy who had been with the lead pack.

Finally with the finishline in sight, Fast Frankie, already nearly 10 seconds up on me, then me, then the guy we just passed all made an early kick for the tape. I was able to ditch the guy behind while gaining back much on Fast Frankie until, 3 seconds back, I ran out of room.

Time: 18:22 (I think)
6th place overall
1st place age group

All of this was good for a goodie bag stuffed with, among other things, $30 Gift Certificates to Dicks, which to me is as good as cash since I spend a good amount of money there anyway.

Second race in a row that paid for itself!

Team USA ‘09: Making the Team…

After an amazing experience being a part of Team USA this year and wearing the red, white, and blue in competing for the US at the 2008 Long Course Triathlon World Championships in the Netherlands this past August, I decided to make a run at re-qualifying for next year (2009), when the World Championships will be held toward the end of Oct. ‘09 in Perth, Australia.

The way to qualify for Team USA ‘09 was for me to compete at the National Championships, a race called Halfmax and one for which athletes must qualify to even race. I happened to qualify for Halfmax earlier in the year with a great race at Mooseman, a half Iron distance triathlon in early June in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. I had a great race on a day that saw temperatures climb into the high ’90’s. No kidding.

So with the great experience of Worlds behind me and wanting another chance at re-living the glory, I decided to race Halfmax in October in attempts to requalify. Being a National Championship meant that the field was very competitive. And because the course was so tough, only the strong and fast would survive. Seriously, for those of you who cycle, the bike course alone had a total ascent of 7000 feet. You can’t find a hillier bike course. Slots for Team USA would go to the Top-10 athletes in each age group with roll down slots handed out, if available, to the next 3. So I had to come in Top-10 in age group to earn my spot, or come in 11th, 12th, or 13th and hope a roll down slot comes.

Halfmax was held out at Lead Mead, NV. The swim took place in the beautiful Lake Mead. I honestly have never swam in such pristine waters, waters that even tasted sweet — no kidding. The bike course started at Lake Mead, went out into the desert around Lake Mead and back, and then made a steep climb at mile 48 all the way up and into Boulder City, NV. The entire way up was lined with scenic overlook pull-offs. That’s how crazy hilly it was. But that’s also how beautiful the course was. With tempertatures hitting near 90F, I began the run leg of the race in decent shape. The run was the toughest I will ever do. It had long gradual inclines and drops that gained or lost up to 500 feet over a mile or two. Those were worse than steep, short hills. The run got very tough. I started strong, held pace through mile 7 or 8, but knew by mile 4 it would get ugly. And ugly it got. Although my pace on the run didn’t drop off all that much, it did drop, and it did hurt. But I was counting age groupers — my competition — and was in okay standing because, well, nobody in my age group passed me. In fact, the course was so tough, even though I was dropping off, so were others, because nobody passed me but one or two.

Halfmax Run Course: Hanging on in the desert for 12th place in age group at the National Championship.

I crossed the line in 12th place in my age group. Top-10 got automatic slots on Team USA. Roll down to 13th place. And so I got a roll down slot. Earned the hard way. Against the best age groupers in the country. And I think because this race was such a battle, because I earned it the hard way and on such a tough course, it meant that much more to me. Because, honestly, I am excited!

Team USA 2009!

The wild ride in this sport called triathlon continues…

Just today I was contacted by USAT, governing body of triathlon in the United States, that I earned a spot on Team USA for the 2009 Long Course Triathlon World Championships in Perth, Australia!

Words cannot do justice to the magic of reliving next October what was to date the proudest moment in my sporting life…

Happy Birthday Indeed!

Today, Friday, November 14, 2008, is my 39th birthday. And so this morning, my good running buddy John asked if I wanted to go for a run or, because it was my special day, sleep in with the Ironmate. Since I sleep with the Ironmate every night and wake up beside her each morning, I decided a run would be in order. I mean, what day isn’t complete without a morning run!

And so at 5:15 am this morning my three bestest running buddies (Andy, Lori, and John) and I went for a run. It wasn’t all that different than usual because, after all, we typically run together on Friday mornings anyway. But on this morning, the morning of the day of my birthday 39 years earlier, we met for an 8-mile run over to and up and down my most favorite hill of all, Sagamore Hill.

Thor (me) and Andy in front of John’s house at the start:

After touching off at 5:15 AM from in front of John’s house, we picked up Lori a short while later before heading over to the steeper side of the infamous Sagamore Hill.

Approaching the hill, I gave warning, “I’m going twice,” and promptly picked up pace and charged up the hill. Once I reached the top, I turned and went back down in the direction in which I came. Down to the bottom, I turned and repeated. But this time, as I crested the top, knowing the time was probably near 6:05 AM, the precise time 39 years earlier my bare ass smacked the ground with a global kiss, I raised my hands in the misty air.

“I LOVE Birthdays!”

Back with my running buddies, we laughed all the way home.

Thor (me), Andy and John after we dropped off Lori:

A Happy Birthday Indeed!

Run For All Ages 5K

Run For All Ages 5K
Wakefield, MA
Saturday, November 8, 2008

Results
5K – Flat
18:07 (5:51 min/mile)
9th Overall of ~400
1st Age Group
*Earned $25 by winning age group – race paid for itself, and then some!

Race Report

So many of you know that I don’t exactly do the short stuff when it comes to road races or triathlon. It’s not that I’m not interested but rather that, well, I usually have some long training session to get in instead, or because I’d rather go out for a social long run with LRR, the Diesel, and the Andyman. I mean, if you ran with those hooligans, you wouldn’t be able to resist either. But the short of it is that I don’t race the short stuff very often.

On top of that, I haven’t done proper speed work on the run since early this year. That’s a long time away from quality running. So I was very curious to see where I was with regard to my pacing in a 5K. Could I crack an average of 6 minute miles? I had no idea. Whatever would come would come, and I’d take it and use it to build on for the next few months as my off-season goal. On top of all of this, my last standalone 5K was, like, back in 2004 or 2005. The Nashville Hangover Run. I’ve done a few 5-milers over the years, but if I counted only enough to fill the digits on one hand.

So this morning I toed the line of the Run For All Ages 5K in nearby Wakefield, Massachusetts very curious what I could do. Having run the Manchester City Marathon last Sunday and put in a 9 mile run the day before, I wasn’t exactly hopeful for a fast time, but I was excited because I knew it would be fun and I knew I’d get in what would be the beginning of speed work for me — only my start would be during a race.

Race

Gun went off and quickly I found myself up with the leading pack of about 20. There were probably 400 entries in the small town race, so I was feeling good about it considering the number of runners.

Mile 1 came very quickly in 5:45. I promised myself if the first mile was slow or fast, or regardless of time, I wouldn’t freak out. I would simply run by feel. By this time I was on edge and sitting in, maybe, 15th place.

From Mile 1 to 2, which I did in 5:5x, I set sights on a runner friend, steadily trying to close the gap. As I did I passed another 5 or 6. At that point I could still see the lead pack of 4 not too far up but far enough that I knew I wouldn’t catch them.

At mile 2 I caught my friend and one other. At this point I counted that I was sitting in 10th place. At this point I also saw the lead pack, battling for first place, break apart when one guy started falling off, followed by another, followed by the other two pushing even harder.

From mile 2 to 3, still under 6 minute pace, I started feeling the fatigue of the 9 mile run the day before. Where I would normally be able to hold on and even push a little more, I only had enough energy to hold on, maintain position.

During this stretch, I watched my runner friend pull up 10 seconds on me as we both came upon a few other runners. One dropped back just enough that I knew, if I wanted to be within the Top-10, like to finish in the single digits, I’d have to push even harder. I tried. But all I could do was maintain pace. But surprisingly to me, that was good enough to climb into 9th place. Meanwhile, up ahead of me, my runner friend caught another. But for me, I ran out of space. That’s where we all finished.

I crossed the line 18:07, 5:51 pace per mile, good for 9th place overall of, maybe, 400, and first in age group. None of this effort was any good for hardware. It was good for something much better! Cash! I earned $25. It was the first time I have EVER won cash.

So the motivating part here is that without speed work training or even doing these sorts of races, I clocked a decent 5K that, if I were only 15 seconds faster, would put me squarely in 5th or 6th place overall. And not only that, I was only 1:27 behind the winner. That’s about 25 seconds per mile I’d need. I know at this pace 25 seconds per mile is a lot to take off, but I can surely eat into that by 10 seconds or more with some quality speed work. And so maybe from here until February, just maybe, I’ll run a few more of these. Because this race, this race was a freebie, paid for itself with 1st in age group!

Manchester Marathon

Manchester Marathon
Manchester, New Hampshire
November 2, 2008
Marathon Number 45

Results (splits at end)
Finish: 3:07:18 (7:09 min per mile)
16^th overall of ~500
6^th of 53 age group

Race Report (pseudo)

Manchester Marathon in New Hampshire. Clocked a 3:07. Very tough course. Definitely not a PR course for those with 8 or 10 marathons under their race belts. Just too much up and down of all varieties — long graduals, short and steep, long and steep, one after another. Seriously a tough to PR marathon for those racing for a few years.

I went out with the 3:10 pace group. We grew to 12 people by mile 10. Held strong with 8 to 10 until 15. Then it slowly dwindled. I watched a youngster — doing his first marathon — make a break from the pack at 18. He seemed to be running good, but somehow I knew I’d see him again. At 19.5 I decided to make a break. Caught the youngster right away, and as soon as I did he dropped back to the group again. I knew he went too soon. At 18 miles you still have a long way to go — and even moreso on this course.

I put the hammer down and dropped pace to about 6:45 or under for the rest of the way in. Had a few miles that were slower, about 7 minute miles, but that was only because of up hills. To add insult to injury of a tough course, there was a very stiff wind on the chilly day, and it was a head wind for the last 5 miles back to home base.

Picked off 5 or 6 runners in the last 3 miles, and a total of about 10 since leaving the pack. Clocked 3:07 feeling fairly strong — well, as strong as you can at the end of a marathon. All was good for 16th place overall of about 500-600.

Pace group came in at 3:09:40, along with the youngster and the pace leader. None of the other 8 to 10 were able to hold on. And honestly, I can see why, because it really was a pretty tough course. Certainly not a course to go for a BQ or a PR.

Good day all around. Bumped into a friend who was on Team USA at Worlds in Holland. We reminisced and chatted up goals. Sucked down a few celebratory beers and called it a solid day.

Splits

1 – 7:04
2 – 7:23
3 – 7:15
4 – 7:15
5 – 7:15
6 – 7:29
7 – 7:29
8 – 7:29
9 – 6:40
10 – 6:52
11 – 7:03
12 – 7:04
13 – 7:11
13.1 – 1:34:xx
14 – 7:09
15 – 7:18
16 – 7:18
17 – 7:18
18 – 7:18
19 – 7:31
20 – 6:57
21 – 7:04
22 – 7:04
23 – 6:48
24 – 6:44
25 – 6:50
26.2 – 8:20 (6:56)