Posts Tagged ‘race report’

Sacramento Zoo Zoom 5k Race Report

They forecast heavy rain, 20 mph winds and general mayhem for race time this morning, but it all held off until this afternoon, so we ran in pristine conditions.

My training has been going well, so while I’m not in top form I knew my time would be respectable. The only downside was no timing mat at the start, so gun time is your only time. I started my Garmin at the line, so these splits are chip time equivalents. My Garmin is also set on auto-pause, so it stops whenever I come to a full stop (which came in handy, as you’ll see).

Mile 1 – 7:41

Mile 2 – 7:47

Mile 3 – 7:53

.1 – 0:45

Finish – 24:06

My official time was 24:31.5, the difference being due to the 30 seconds or so I (and several others) spent checking on the young woman lying face down in the grass about a mile and three-quarters into the race. Fortunately there was a police officer nearby and the ambulance was immediately dispatched. So congratulations to those who PR’ed while running past her prone body. Good job!

I finished 139th in a field of 1,350, and 11th of 56 in the 50-59 age group.

This was my first race since last October and it was good to get back at it. And we got a free entry to the zoo, which is a nice treat.

I won’t be racing again until Memorial Day, and I’ll spend the interim increasing distance at target marathon pace (8:12) and getting some longer long runs in.

Buffalo Stampede

It was time to pay the price for pre-registering for all those races. I’m less than 100%, but I’ve been aggressively treating my leg with ice, rest and, when necessary, Advil. So I got up on Sunday morning for the Buffalo Stampede 10-miler, put on by the Buffalo Chips Running Club. I love this race because it’s a great distance and instead of a generic t-shirt, we got a fleece vest. Cool! Or should I say, Warm!

The race also has an unusual arrangement: If you travel slower than 10 minutes per mile, they start you out an hour earlier. It had little effect on middle-of-the-packers like me, but the front-runners probably ended up dodging a lot of walkers on the way back.

Anyway, it is a well-organized race on a flat course. The weather was breezy but pleasant. My only complaint was I failed to spot – if they existed – mile markers at 4, 5 and 6. I don’t have a Garmin, so there was an extended period where I wasn’t sure how I was doing. As it turned out, it didn’t matter much.

I ran the first mile in 8:57, then ran the remaining nine miles within the 8:26-8:34 range. It’s rare for me to find a pace and hold it so closely for that length of time. I felt pretty good the entire way and the leg wasn’t much of a problem. I would have liked to have been about 20 seconds per mile faster, and I had no extra gear at the end, but considering how I felt just seven days ago, I’m pretty happy with my performance.

I finished in 1:25:17 – more than 7 minutes off my PR, but a decent improvement over a similar distance just two months ago. I should probably give up looking at positioning. We have many, many amazing runners in this area. My time placed me 265th out of the 836 total participants, and 35th of 69 in my age group. Normally it would be a bummer for me to finish so low in my age group, but if I had PR’ed, I would have only moved up to 21st. These old guys are nasty fast.

No rest for the leg weary. I have two more races this week. I’ll explain tomorrow.

Memory 5k Race Report

Another gorgeous day for running in Northern California. The Alzheimer’s Aid Society Memorial 5k meanders in and around a cemetery and an upscale neighborhood with lots of shade, and the temperatures were moderate. Sacramento mayor and former NBA great Kevin Johnson was in the field, as well as former state assemblyman Lloyd Levine, but the real celebrity today was Austin Ramos of Fair Oaks, who won the race in 14:56. I can’t remember anyone else ever going sub-15 in a 5k around here. The second-place finisher was more than a minute-and-a-half behind him.

I ran an excellent and steady race, finishing with a strong kick uphill over the last 200 meters. But it did illustrate how ill-advised my Funny/Viper Challenge was two months ago. Even healthy and with some solid speedwork under my belt, I didn’t approach that whippersnapper’s 5k time.

Mile 1 – 7:41

Mile 2 – 7:35

Mile 3 – 7:34

Mile 3.1 – 0:46

Finish – 23:36
146th out of 953
14th out of 35 in 50-54 age group

I’ve only got one more 5k this year, at the end of next month. I might shave a little more off that time, but distance and endurance take center stage for the rest of the year. I’ve got a 14-miler tomorrow.

Make That Junior High School Track Girl

Last week I regaled you with my 1500 meter exploits at the Pacific Association 2009 Summer All Comers Series track meet. Now that the official results are in, it’s time to correct the record:

1) Of the 153 finishers in all the track events, exactly 22 were at or above the legal drinking age in California.

2) Had I instead run the 3000 meters as I had planned, I still would have been 4th, but I would have finished ahead of three other runners.

3) The two kids who led the way in the 1500 meters were 18 and 17 years old. The winner ran 4:28 flat.

4) The runner I referred to as the “older guy” was 49 years old. He ran a 5:39. He’s also a founding member of a local running club and his marathon PR is 2:55.

5) My official time was 6:09.24.

6) High School Track Girl turned out to be 12 years old.

That’s pretty sobering stuff. So if there is ever an “all comers” meet in your area, prepare to be humbled.

I’m headed down to San Diego for a week. I have time for one last training run before Saturday’s 15k on Coronado. I’m going back to playing with kids my own age.

No Excuses

Beautiful day in Sacramento for the No Excuses 5k. I had a decent warmup, we had a beautiful rendition of the national anthem, and Mayor Kevin Johnson gave us a warm welcome. The Kings desperately need a point guard more than we need a mayor, and even in his 40s, Johnson would be an upgrade at the position. Anyway, off we went.

On Friday I mentioned that race day adrenaline would improve my time, and boy, did it ever. But it was also my undoing. I covered the first mile in 7:31, which was faster than any single mile I ran in training for this race. I promised I would head for the puke threshold, and I did. The second mile was a 7:52.

Now I’ve covered two miles five seconds faster than any two training miles I’ve run. Unfortunately, there was still 1.1 to go. The funny thing is I didn’t feel myself slowing down. Though it was more of a struggle, I thought I was moving my legs just as fast. The watch doesn’t lie, though. My third mile was an 8:32, and my finishing kick didn’t improve on it (0:51).

Unofficial time – 24:46.

No word from Viper yet, but I have to think he beat this. I have no regrets, however. I chopped nearly 4 minutes off my 5k time in less than three weeks.

Once we both have official times, we’ll have the appropriate victory/concession blog posts. Thanks for following along. It was really a blast.

UPDATE: It’s official. 24:46.3. The results are listed by age-graded rankings, which made me 305th of 1057. My age-graded time was reduced to 21:40. But before you think old guys like me reap a rankings benefit from the age-grading system, let me clue you in. The age- and sex-grading lifted me past 35 faster runners, but lifted 75 slower runners past me.

My First Marathon Race Report – 2005

I found the race report for my first marathon – the 2005 California International Marathon – and wanted to make sure it survived in the archives, so I’m reposting it here. I can’t find my second one, but I’ll keep looking. I ran only four times a week while training for this race, with a max week of 46 miles:

The California International Marathon was my first. The taper was my first, as well, and that was quite an experience.

The first two weeks of my taper were exceedingly uneventful. My runs were steady and easy, and I was so laid back I thought, “This taper madness stuff is so hyped and overblown.”

Then came last week.

Every little problem freaked me out. I reinstalled my entire wireless network even though it was my cable Internet provider that was having the technical difficulties. I scrubbed the kitchen counters three times. I compulsively hunted down the ants living behind my dishwasher.

I did three-mile runs without even breaking a sweat. I sat through the course lecture at the expo with my leg twitching the whole time. I calmed down a little with a pre-race dinner at PF Chang’s (garlic noodles – 610 grams of carbs!) I’ve never been so amped in my life.

I got a full six hours of coma-like sleep. A 4 a.m. wakeup, my usual routine and out the door.

Caught one of the first buses at the Sheraton at 5 for the long drive to Folsom. We got there just before 6.

IT WAS FREEZING!!!

I was in a long-sleeve wicking shirt and tights, plus warmup pants and a sweatshirt and disposable gloves, and I was still bone-cold. Large crowds were huddled in a mini-mart near the starting line. I saw a woman clad only in shorts and a thin top standing by the exhaust of a generator, trying to stay warm. I can’t imagine how the guy in the kilt felt.

I spent the hour before the start shivering and eating a big salty bagel, washed down with some Fiji Water. Out of the porta-potty at 6:50, turn in my sweats bag, and find myself caught in a crowd well behind the 4:30 pace group. No room to move up to the 4:00 group, but I figured I would just start slower.

We took off right at 7 a.m. without ceremony. It was great to finally run, but I couldn’t feel my toes. I went nice and leisurely behind the 4:30 group, wondering why the 4:45 group was running ahead of the 4:00 group.

Mile 1 – 10:06
Mile 2 – 9:58
Mile 3 – 7:48???

The first three miles consisted of my efforts to gradually work my way up to the 4-hour pace group. I was with the 4:15 group by Mile 3, finally starting to feel warmer. The third split was obviously wrong, but I can’t determine which other mile is wrong in the other direction. Oh well.

Mile 4 – 8:42
Mile 5 – 8:52
Mile 6 – 9:13

I caught the 4 hour group at Mile 5, tried to slow to their pace, but kept pulling away. At the Mile 6 turn I was about 50 yards ahead of them. I decided to run my normal pace, checking behind me and in front of me for the relevant pace groups. My cumulative time at Mile 6 was 54:40 – right on pace for a 4 hour finish.

Mile 7 – 9:01
Mile 8 – 8:59
Mile 9 – 8:53

We made our way down Fair Oaks Blvd. and I was maintaining proper pace. I passed the Kilt Guy as a female spectator yells to him, “Nice skirt!”

“It’s a kilt!” he bellows, a little peeved.

Mile 10 – 8:37
Mile 11 – 8:37
Mile 12 – 8:49

I’ve run six half-marathons this year, so it didn’t surprise me to see myself speeding up a bit at this point. We climbed the only significant hill at 10.5, but I was worried about the rolling terrain for nothing. It was hardly noticeable. Unless you run crazy fast in the first half and really burn out your quads, CIM is really a great fast course for anyone – particularly for your first marathon.

Mile 13 – 8:40
Mile 14 – 8:01
Mile 15 – 8:44

This was the most exciting part of the course for me. A huge cheering throng was gathered right after the halfway point, which explains why I ran an 8:01 in the middle of a 9-minute pace marathon. I crossed the halfway mat at 1:57, which was right where I wanted to be.

Mile 16 – 8:39
Mile 17 – 8:24
Mile 18 – 8:46

Felt great at this point - even better than during my long training runs.

Mile 19 – 8:32
Mile 20 – 8:34
Mile 21 – 8:50

The organizers set up a canvas “wall” just after Mile 20 and I blew through it feeling pretty good. My cumulative time at Mile 21 was 3:04:48. I was on pace for about a 3:51 finish.

Suddenly (you knew this was coming, didn’t you?), I started to get a cramp in my right hip. I’ve never felt anything like that while running. The longest run of my life prior to this race was 21.2 miles, so it didn’t surprise me that the pain worsened as I exceeded that. I was very well hydrated, my GU worked magic, and I otherwise felt fine.

Mile 22 – 9:23
Mile 23 – 9:37
Mile 24 – 11:25

I gutted it out for two more miles, but then my right knee started to seize up (in sympathy with the hip, no doubt). About two minutes past Mile 23, I took a walk break of exactly five minutes. It did the trick. Everything loosened up a bit, and I started running again.

Mile 25 – 9:31
Mile 26 – 10:34

Finish – 3:56:29

1,469th of 3,249 finishers
174th of 309 in age group

The hip carried me for another mile at a reasonable pace before cramping again. I found myself praying for this thing to be over. I took a two-minute walk break with a mile to go, then just grimaced my way down L street, past the exceedingly loud and annoying music, around the corner at 8th, then managed a laughable sprint to the finish.

I spotted Mrs. A. at the end of the chute, grabbed her, and started to cry. Not those little tears of joy everyone had, but deep, racking sobs that made my whole body shake.

Once I composed myself, I desperately searched for the food. I was starting to lose it while waiting in line, but the hot tomato soup cheered me beyond measure. I ate just about everything they had, then sent Mrs. A. to the coffee truck for a giant cup with massive amounts of sugar. I felt close to human soon after.

It was a hell of an experience, and something I will remember for the rest of my life.