The Ten 5k Challenge, Race #4 Recap (Midsummer Night's Dream Run)

The Ten 5k Challenge, Race #4 Recap (Midsummer Night's Dream Run)

My New Year's Resolution for 2010 was to lose ten pounds and run ten 5k races. So far I'm down 8 lbs from my January 1 weight, and last night I completed the fourth 5k race of the year. I am registered already for races 5-7 which take place over the next several weeks, and I'm still eyeballing those last few races.

So, yesterday's race was unique for me for a couple of reasons. First, it's likely to be the only race of the year that I run on a weeknight, as the other ones have all been Saturday or Sunday morning affairs. Also, this race was divided up so that the first race was all high school kids, and then the adult men and women each ran separately. So I was running exclusively against other adult men, also new for me. Lastly, this was my first ever cross country race. I have been training mostly on paved roads. There are some dirt trails that I run on at Onondaga Lake Park but they are fairly well worn.

This was real off-road racing though! Running through grassy fields, up and down some serious hills, across bare dirt, and all kinds of new terrain. I found it challenging and fun.

The course was laid out at Long Branch Park, another state facility just down the road from my home. The organizers had laid out a 2.5k loop around the perimeter of the park that was essentially run twice, with some minor variations for the start and finish lines. A single water station was set up near the halfway point.

I hit the first mile split at 7:45, not my best pace but considering the terrain, I was happy with it. The killer feature of this course was a really big hill, just after the 1 mile mark. This beast was at a near 45 degree angle and probably about 60 feet high. The first time I hit it at a pretty good clip, made my way own the other side and on through the forest.

The weather was really nice... overcast, a little breeze and the occasional sprinkle of rain to cool me off.

Hit the halfway point at about 12:10. Again, I was hoping to finish under 25 minutes given the nature of the run. I found that running over soft ground, on trails, and the gravelly roads was putting a bit more pressure on my feet and ankles. Not enough to hurt, but enough for me to notice the difference from my usual runs.

This was an elite group of runners, compared to the other races I've run this year. The first three races of 2010 I've managed to finish in the top 20-25% of the field. But looking at this race's 2009 results I could see I'd be near the back of the pack. No bother -- I am running my own race. I very quickly fell behind the larger pack of runners in the first quarter mile.

Hitting that hill the second time, at about the 2.5 mile mark, really beat me down. I scaled it in a near trudge. From there though I was able to keep a good (for me) pace and even kick at the end a bit. I ran a 24:33, slower than I did in races 2 and 3 but still comparative to what I've been doing on my practice runs in the extreme heat we've had this year. I earned a nice orange tee shirt for my efforts and I feel great today. No lingering effects from running cross country.

I always feel like Rudy from the movie "Meatballs" when I'm running through the woods.

Race number 5, assuming I don't enter another one in between now and then, is another cross country run, this time at Beaver Lake in Baldwinsville. That's a full loop around the lake at a park that my family and I have visited many times. I'm looking forward to it.

UPDATE: Official results clocked me at 24:32, and in 29th place of 36 runners.

The Ten 5k Challenge, Race #3 Recap (Reston, VA)

I decided to run a 5k far from home, as we had made family plans to visit my cousin in Virginia for the July 4th holiday weekend. There was one nearby, the inaugural Firecracker 5k in Reston, Virginia, which I registered for online.

It was quite the race!

I got up early, got my packet and got my chip all tethered to my shoelaces nice and early. Was ready to go a good 50 or so minutes before the 8 AM start. We were racing in a nice little neighborhood of condos and bars/restaurants. Basically we started in the middle of it, ran a loop around the outside of it and then finished near where we started.

Somehow, due to the increasing heat and the one-way nature of the loop, it seemed as though 90% of the run was uphill. Much of the middle 2 miles or so was also in the direct sun and it was warming up out there by the minute. Good crowd, over 500 names pre-registered and more showing up. They announced it as over 800 runners though ultimately only 675 finish times were posted.

The mile markers were not in the correct locations, as far as I could tell. I broke into a nice sprint out of the box and even though I was running uphill in the sun, I felt like I was setting a decent pace. That first mile marker just kept not showing up, the fuck! Finally I hit what they are calling one mile at 8:02. I think, "That can't be right." And as I think it, someone else says it out loud and another guy goes "that's long." So I assume they've staked out the marker incorrectly, this being the inaugural 5k on this course.

I keep huffing it uphill, around and around the loop. A nice quiet run with 700 people I don't know. No physical problems, a tiny twinge in my right knee but nothing that affects my pace. I hit the second mile marker at 14:50! Now, that's 21 seconds faster than my fastest ever split, and I deduce that once again they've messed up the mile markers. Ah well, just run your race I tell myself. I hit the water station, one cup to the head/back and I don't break stride.

At some point a kid, maybe 14, asks me what my pace is. "Usually about 7:30-7:40" I pant to him. He gives me a "Really?" and then, of course, dusts me. I can't help but laugh, and I remark to a woman my age how much I love getting whipped by these kids. "I know," she replies, "I've been trailing him the entire race." This is funny to me.

Finally, as I keep winding up the corkscrew, I hit the third mile marker at a total time of 22:30. Now I'm happy, this lines up with how fast I feel like I've ran and what I have left. The last .1 is, of course, a run uphill and around a bend. I keep my pace but don't have enough to sprint the finish... I'm giving it all just to keep the pace. Gun time of 23:49, and chip time (and my watch time) of 23:39. I finished 94th out of 317 men, 21st out of 55 men age 35-39, and 124th overall out of 675 runners. Very happy with my performance... again, I beat my last race time by a substantial margin and made a good showing. The shirts they gave away are very nice, like that cool running mesh type instead of just a cotton tee.

Followed this up with a trip to DC to watch the Mets whip the Nationals, soak up more sun, have beer and burgers and good times all around. A super day.

Next race is in July 28th in Liverpool. A weeknight 5k race, should be an interesting day.