North Reading Turkey Trot 5K
North Reading, Massachusetts
Thanksgiving 2009

Results
5K – 3.1 miles
Finish: 17:53 (5:47 pace)
5th Place Overall
2nd Place Over-30

Race Report

As the saying goes, “There is a first time for everything,” and often it is a first you will never forget.

I will never forget my first road race. It was a 5-miler in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

I will never forget my first Ironman. It was in Madison, Wisconsin, the very same day I proposed to my lovely wife.

I will never forget my first time. It was in the back seat of… oh nevermind.

And I will never forget the innaugural town of North Reading Thanksgiving Day road race, a 5K Turkey Trot. It was the first time in my long history of running races and doing triathlons that I have ever led a race — the entire race — for even a short amount of time.

With a field of thankful friends and families totaling 300, the North Reading Turkey Trot got off to a meager start with myself and a handful of high schoolers blasting into the front. A quarter mile in, I found myself dangerously close to leading the race. So close I was that I knew if I could just put in a surge that I would indeed be leading the race. I didn’t quite think it was something I could hold, as I knew Fast Frankie and some of these high schoolers were capable of going well under 18 minutes, but still the thought struck me: I had never, to that point, ever led a race of any distance.

After a controlled surge, I settled in, for the first time in my long history of running, in first place. I, Thor Kirleis, was leading a race. I couldn’t help but smile. Giddy with myself, I just had to tell someone, and so with me two paces in front of a group of, maybe, 10, I enjoyed the sight in front of me with a bicyclist leading the way, charting the way for my path, and the group of dogs hounding on my heels.

With a quick turn back to assess the herd, I smiled and said, like a complete rookie, “Hey, I’ve never led a race before.” Not a word came back; everybody was running too hard. Then after another look back, this time with an even wider smile, I said, “I’m winning, boys… I’m in first place… who’s going to take it away from me?”

Just then Pete, my buddy John’s relative who was in town to share in the holiday, came up on the far side and took the lead.

My first place glory lasted for all of a few hundred yards, maybe less. But no matter, a first is a first, and to lead a race even for a short while gives me motivation to try to lead one when it matters most.

As so with that victory already in the bank, I punched on over this short rolling hills course, feeling fluid and smooth in mind and body, especially considering both were still getting over racing a marathon only days earlier, for a 5th place finish, with 1st through 4th still square in sights.

Philadelphia Marathon
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Sunday, November 22, 2009

Results
Finish: 3:02:58
284th place overall of 7500
24th place M40-44 of 652

1st Half: 1:29:45 (6:51 pace)
2nd Half: 1:33:13 (7:06 pace)
Marathon #52
State #15

Race Report

A marathon is comprised of twenty six and two tenths individual miles. Each mile, taken together, determines how the whole plays out. Look quickly and you might not see that although this is a marathon, not a sprint, no one mile should make or break the race, for it is simply too long a distance, but look more closely and you might see that to race a marathon to your fullest ability, no single mile should make or break the race but, you should know, any given mile may. And sometimes when looking back at the race after it had been penned in the daily log it might not be the mile you think.

Philadelphia Marathon, my 52nd go at the distance, was about a particular mile. A first glance might reveal that mile 19 dictated the outcome, for it was when the slowdown began. But a closer inspection will show that this was only a symptom of an earlier mile gone wrong. Perhaps it was the middle miles where the pace was rapid, far faster than intended. But it wasn’t. Those too were symptoms of an earlier mile gone wrong.

Of all the twenty six miles, there was one that dictated the outcome, for each mile thereafter followed with that tone, setting a new tune for the next, until the very end when the clock read something more than the goal had allotted, the song different to the hear than played.

Bouncing on my toes at the starting line to stay warm in the 38F brisk morning along with nearly twenty-five thousand other runners (8000 in the marathon, 9000 in the half marathon, and the rest for the adjoining 8K), I had no idea that a mile, one in particular, would define my race.

The goal had been to go under 3-hours. This meant holding a 6:52 minute per mile average pace throughout all miles. To my pleasant surprise the day before at the Expo, I had discovered that there would be a 3:00 pace group. That’s when I decided to simplify my race plan; I would go out with the group, lean on the help of others instead of going it alone. Race plan went from a list of trying to hit several key marks along the way to one of simplicity by just following along.

After the national anthem and announcements, the race was on. The first mile (7:30), being caught up in a dual start of half and full marathoners, was slow. We were already down 42 seconds. This shouldn’t be cause for concern, for we had 25 more miles to make up time. That should have been the thinking – but it wasn’t.

With a size of over 30, this 3-Hour pace group was the largest I had ever been a part of, and as if on queue, as soon as we went through that slow mile, the pace, as if panicked, ratcheted up for a fast Mile 2 (6:20) and 3 (6:48) to make up lost time. All it takes is one in the group to pace more quickly. This group had many. We paced more quickly.

Now back on three hour pace, having made up the 42 second deficit, the group slowed noticeably for Mile 4 (6:59). The uneven pace made me unsettled. I had worked far too hard over those early miles for this early in the race. I felt good. But I was working. And it was all because the group panicked at sight of the first mile being slow. Where the pack mentality should have been “It’s a marathon, not a sprint; we can make it up over the miles with a steady, even pace,” it turned into a chaotic all or nothing tune.

By then the personality of the group had been set. Instead of pacing steady as we did through Mile 5 (6:49) and 6 (6:54), it became running hard for a set pace (Mile 7: 6:47, 8: 6:47, 9: 6:39) because the prior miles were slow, then panicking and taking the pace way down (Mile 10: 6:52) and, because the group was now pumping with more adrenaline due to having already run faster miles picking up again quickly (Mile 11: 6:41, 12: 6:46, 13: 6:48).

The temperature was rising slowly during this stretch. I grew hot, then cold, then hot, and cold again. Gloves off, gloves on, off, on. Another concern was that I couldn’t get fluids in. Where normally I could suck down half a cup of water or Gatorade at each aid station, I would take in half only to spit out most of it. My heart rate was far too high on those quick stretches to get much in. The cascading effective of a slow first mile and an over-sized pace group was in full force.

By half way the pack was already half the size it was in the first few miles. Half came in 1:29:45. We hurried back and forth with the pace, but we were now on pace. Unfortunately, the personality of the group was strong, and so the ebb and flow with pace continued.

To this point I was staying firmly near the front of the pack, for it was too large to tuck in given the storm grates and potholes and uneven pavement on the roads. At times I would fall back only to slow my way back near front. One thing certain was that mile one was still rattling around in my brain. I knew by then that the slow first mile had set the tone to the frantic pacing system instilled in the group. I was breathing way too hard even though I was keeping up. I contemplating letting the group go and running my own race. But those thoughts ended right there: I knew it was easier to run with the group, especially now that we were on the second half. I told myself I was stronger than the course. I would do this.

Mile 14 (6:52) was the beginning of a long out-and-back stretch into the wind that winded along the Schuylkill River all the way to the town of Manayunk at Mile 20. This was the beginning of feelings of not-so-highs and deep lows, one after another, all the while still unable to get nearly as much fluid in as I would like. I hoped this would not come back to haunt me, although I knew better – the cascading effect.

Miles 15 through 19 (6:40, 6:57, 6:58, 6:48, 6:53) were more even, but by then I knew it was a matter of time before the cascading effect of the first mile would bit me in the ass. I just hoped that I was strong enough to push off that timeframe until after I hit the finish line. At times I found myself ahead of the group, and at times I struggled to keep up. Seeing that the pace of the group was more steady now, and knowing the signs my mind and body were giving me, I knew this was the beginning of the slowdown before the pace actually fell.

The slowdown came during Mile 20 (7:09) on a hill leading up and then down to the turnaround in Manayunk. On that hill I lost contact of the pace group, which was now down to 10 or fewer runners. And I knew I would not catch back up. My body was fatigued, with my lower back aching, and my left hip sometimes feeling as if it would give, also because of fatigue. My breathing was far too labored, and any incline set my pace to pot. This was it: The slowdown, the effect of a slow first mile having cascaded, through fast and slow, to the end.

Having now lost contact with the pack, it was time to get to work – exactly when, if I let my mind wander, it was done doing work. I knew exactly what I had to do. I had to minimize damages by fighting for whatever pace I could as long as it didn’t bring me to my knees in a walk, try like hell to keep the pack at a set distance, the imaginary elastic cord, and stay focused and in the moment.

And that’s what I did. I fought hard. I dug deep, very deep. I stayed in the moment. I removed all thoughts of distance remaining and pain in body and mind. And I worked on setting pace as fast as I could with breathing still barely manageable.

The long stretch back along the river felt like eternity, but slowly and steadily, the miles came one by one: 21: 7:11, 22: 7:26, 23: 7:30. I grabbed onto the shoulder of anyone I could find running a touch faster than me. I stayed focused, kept cadence up even though I had to shorten my stride, and I fought on.

A few more minutes, I told myself. Back to the moment. And the task at hand. On I fought. Mile 24 (7:21) was better, as I seemed to get more legs under me, but I was muscling through a left leg that wouldn’t always land correctly. I knew I had at least that much energy, to keep muscling, to keep breathing labored, and I believed in myself to be able to carry this to the finish line.

As Mile 25 (7:25) came, my tunnel vision permitted me to take in the wide open full roadway at the Museum of Art, with each side of the street filled with crazed fans cheering loudly, almost too loud for my tired ears. I was, finally, in the home stretch. I hadn’t looked at the clock to know what time I would finish in, but it didn’t matter. I had fought through each mile, one after another, paying the price for a slow first mile that set a pace group frenzied. At this point my goal was still the same: run as fast and hard as I could over the distance remaining. Give it my all on the day with what was before me. And that’s what I was doing. In a strange way, I was loving every damn painful minute; I was stronger than the course, this I knew!

Now in the final stretch, with crowd noise deafening, I saw Heather and her sister, Amanda, smiling and waving. Their smiles and the glow on their faces told me all I needed to know: They themselves had great races and for me, after a very difficult hour or more of holding onto pace for dear life, doing whatever I could to maintain, to minimize the damage, and hold onto my race, the pain was now over. I held on. I held onto not the race of my goal. But I held onto the race of the day, a worthy race, and a performance I am intimately proud of.

Chip time: 3:02:58.

Like a roller coaster from hell, after a slow start as the car clinked its way higher and higher before the screaming downs thrust it fast and steep ups halted it slow, I held on for a wild ride in pacing that would have likely been far different had it never climbed so high in the first mile of track.

Splits

1 – 7:30
2 – 6:20
3 – 6:48
4 – 6:59
5 – 6:49
6 – 6:54
7 – 6:47
8 – 6:47
9 – 6:39
10 – 6:52
11 – 6:41
12 – 6:46
13 – 6:48
13.1 – 1:29:45 (6:51)
14 – 6:52
15 – 6:40
16 – 6:57
17 – 6:58
18 – 6:48
19 – 6:53
20 – 7:09
21 – 7:11
22 – 7:26
23 – 7:30
24 – 7:21
25 – 7:25
26.2 – 9:07 (7:29)
26.2 – 3:02:58
13.1 – 1:33:13 (7:06)

Get ready for some big news from Team Trakkers…

As mentioned  in a previous post,  Team Trakkers is shaping up for 2010. We are in the final phases of selecting additions to the team, confirming existing slots, and lining up team sponsors.

Carole Sharpless, Team Trakkers fearless leader, is doing an amazing job sculpting what will be a highly visible team with a great profile. Within the month the final team will be selected, and a great list of sponsors will have fully committed.

Stay tuned for some exciting news on a shoe sponsor coming our way. It is a dream company to partner with. Very, very good stuff in addition to our existing line up for next season.

In addition to that, stay tuned to exciting news on a bike sponsor. Sharpie has done some good work to align our team with the very best. I can already feel the light touches of Carbon Fiber!

Exciting things are coming… stay tuned!

Indie 5K
Austin, TX
Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Results
18:10 – 5K (3.1 miles)
28th place overall of 225
Cross-country type course in park on roads.
Rolling hills.

Race Report

The Indie 5K was a “Freebie” race for me. Any race I go into it with no nerves, no time goals, no second-thoughts as per its importance, and no taper required fits the bill as a Freebie race. A Freebie race is a glorified fun run with a starting and finishing line, a clock, and a bunch of runners looking to go as fast as they can.

And oh my was this Freebie FAST!

The race was a part of The Running Event (TRE) tradeshow and expo, an event set up for specialty running store owners and connecting buyers and retailers in related businesses. Attendees to the tradeshow raced for free, including many sponsored athletes and those fasties in the field.

As an Athlete Spokesperson for Earth Footwear, I was at the event promoting Earth’s Athletic Recovery Collection, so I got into the Indie 5K, too.

The event was quite special. I knew the field would be deep, with many at the starting line capable of going under 16 minutes, and maybe even one or two under 15! It was like being in a private road race filled exclusively with fast runners. And that’s exactly how it played out.

The 3.1 mile course was completely in Austin’s Zilker Park. The course went up a steep but shorter hill at .5 miles; this was also a point that was the start of a Figure-8 loop done twice. Although the course was entirely on paved roads and paths and some dirt, it reminded me of a cross-country course. And in cross-counrty fashion, we would pass that little hill 4 more times!

To the hill, still in the first mile, I settled in at about 25th place. Up the hill I charged, breathing hard, knowing I had gone out a touch too hard. A Freebie race, I thought to myself… keep pushing! Maybe it would smooth out.

Mile one came in just over 6 minutes (6:05). I knew by then that I had not warmed up properly. My breathing was way too labored, bordering out of control. But my legs still felt good.

By the time I hit the back side of the park, just before we hit the famous hill for a second time, 4 runners passed me while I passed two others. I figured I was within 30th place.

Up the hill, around by the start/finish to complete the Figure-8, and back up the hill to start the loop for a final time, my breathing stayed erratic and my legs lacked the zip. Although I was running smoothly and with good form, I could now tell that the 5K I did only 4 days earlier had robbed my legs of that added spring.

Through mile 2 and onward, I stayed in position, locked around several runners, noone quite able to pass, and a steady stream of runners ahead. A very deep field. I felt as if I were slowing, especially on the last time up the hill, but I knew it was just a feeling. I remained focused on energy output and varying it like a pilot controlling a plane so that I could come in for a steady landing while maximizing speed verses efficiency.

Down the final stretch I flew, passing one, then another, and then another, through the finish in 18:10, which was good for 28th place overall in a very deep field. I was a bit surprised by the time, for the fatigue in my legs, the feeling as if I had been slowing down, and the heavy breathing added up in my head as something slower. The feeling made sense: sitting in a plane for many hours, a 5K only days earlier, no taper, etc.

But I know why the legs just didn’t feel it even though it was a good (not great) race: Feelings are flighty. Speed is steady. You are what you are.

And it was what it was: A Freebie race with great handouts. Very fun!

Team Trakkers is proud to welcome Tri-Swim & Tri-Slide as a partner for 2010!

Many thanks to Carole Sharpless (Professional Triathlete), our fearless team leader, and Karen (onwer of Tri-Swim & Tri-Slide) for their hard work.

Tri-Swim and Tri-Slide offer superior quality chlorine-out products and high performance aerosol skin lubricant. “Good for the body, good for the soul!” Full product line here!

Exciting news for Karen for recently adding FOGGLE, another innovative and exceptional brand: ‘FOGGLE = VISION’

Run For All Ages 5K
Wakefield, MA
Saturday, November 7, 2009 

Results
5K – Flat
17:57 (5:48 pace)
9^th Overall of ~500
1^st Age Group 

Splits
Mile 1 – 5:42
Mile 2 – 5:53
Mile 3.1 – 6:21

Finish Line – Image courtesy of Jim Rhoades (http://www.jimrhoades.com)

Race Report

With the Philadelphia Marathon as my target race for the fall only two weeks away, the long runs and speed work behind me, I decided to fine-tune my top end speed by doing the Run For All Ages 5K at the lake in the nearby town of Wakefield.

Run For All Ages is no stranger to me. I won my age group there in 2008 by clocking 18:07, good for 9^th place overall. This year I was set on defending my title.

(2008 Race Report: http://ironboy.wordpress.com/2008/11/08/run-for-all-ages-5k/) 

After warming up with strides and some at-pace running, I wiggled into the front of the race, right on the starting line. One thing was apparent: The field this year, with 500 total participants, was far greater than last year. And this year, there were also many more “fasties.”

Frankie, a fast friend, joked “We’ll be lucky to break Top-20 with this field.”

He was right. Last year I had finished 9^th in a field of 300. This year the field was nearly double. I would have to fight for this one.

Before long the race was on. Over the first half mile I was sitting squarely in Top-15 and moving my way up. My warm-up prior to the race had been sufficient, as I was already running comfortably at-pace. Breathing was labored yet under control. Pace was fast but not frantic. My form was good and I was in control.

Just before Mile 1 (5:42) the course took a hard right where, one by one, the leaders and those in front of me streamed. Like counting beans, I discovered I was now sitting in 11^th place with 10^th in striking distance. Be patient, I preached to myself. I’ll get it. When it’s ready.

Suddenly time was ripe. I made the pass, somehow knowing there would be no counter for a slot in the Top-10.

Through Mile 2 (5:53) I kept evenly as possible. I was running hard, riding redline, but trying to save something for the mile, where I knew there would be a rise in the road that would expose any runner ahead of me who hadn’t been so cautious. That was my time to try to strike again. So this mile had been about comfortably as possible working my way up to the two runners in front of me, one of which was in first place in my age group, with me in second.

As the rise was coming, with me now sitting in 10^th place overall, 2^nd in age group, one of the two runners ahead of me surged ahead with the other – the leader of my age group – not responding. I used that as a mark to make my own move, because I knew that by the time I pulled even, we would be on the hill, and nobody but nobody would beat me there. My goal was to pull ahead on the short rise in the road and get as many paces up as possible, because once the road leveled out, I knew, there would be no passing, as we were all dialed in to the same pace.

And that’s exactly what happened. I made my move just before the hill, pulled even with the guy in 1^st place in my age group, and then pulled ahead by as many paces as possible. When the flat came I knew I had it. Because there was no shadow encroaching my space, nor was there footsteps heard. I had taken 1^st place in age group and climbed into 9^th overall.

Through Mile 3 and on to the finish (1.1 miles in 6:21), that’s where I stayed. I hadn’t once thought about the time on the clock, so I was surprised to see the sub-18 minutes easily in hand. It occurred to me just than that this race might have been an all-time PR for me at the 5K distance. Either way, if I had run under 18 before, it wasn’t in the last 15 years.

As an Athletic Spokesperson for Earth Footwear, I will be in Austin, TX at The Running Event (TRE) on Tues., Nov. 11 and Wed., Nov. 12.

TRE is a conference and expo for Running Specialty Stores. I will be promoting Earth Athletic Recovery, a collection of footwear specifically designed for better athlete recovery pre- and post-workout.

Please drop in to say hello!

The Running Event (TRE)
Austin, TX
Nov. 11-12, 2009
Earth Footwear – Earth Athletic Recovery Collection
Expo: Booth 426

Team Trakkers welcomes First Endurance for their nutritional needs for 2010.

First Endurance is the maker of the popular EFS nutritional product line. Check out their website for a very cool, and very informative, website called Team First Endurance, which has an easy to use look and feel, much like Facebook, and is targeted towards putting nutritional information — and how to dial it in for racing — at your finger tips.

“Our goal is to have 100% of our members finish Ironman with no cramps, no bonk, and no gastric distress.” –First Endurance

A thread was started by a member of Team LIT over at KickRunners.com; it was titled “Affirmations.”

These are more than ‘just’ goals. These are goals that will be accomplished.

Affirmations for now through 2010:

• I will go under 3 hours in November at the Philadelphia Marathon.
• I will get stronger and faster on the bike over the winter so that after my first race of 2010, once the local big gun cyclists see what I can do, I will be feared and I might just lay down the all-time fastest bike split in an entire race, or perhaps at a Rev3 event I will rival some of the Professional triathletes.
• I will win a race even if I have to cherry pick, be it a 5K, sprint triathlon… any race, any size.

Fresh off a conference call with Carole Sharpless of Team Trakkers, I have learned that our team will once again be tearing it up at the Rev3 Triathlon race series in 2010.

Check out the huge Pro fields, including an amazing pot of cash prizes, in the 2010 Rev3 Race Series, each of which is hosted at an amusement park:

• May 9 – Knoxville, TN – Half Iron, Olympic
• June 5 & 6 – Quassy, Middlebury CT – Half Iron, Olympic
• Sept 12 – Cedar Point, Sandusky, OH – Iron , Half Iron

Registration is OPEN!