HUMAN RACE - RACE REPORT

I need to add an asterisk next to yesterday’s post. I looked at my old logs and it turns out I ran 29:02 on this 8k course 10 YEARS AGO. At the time I was a senior in college, between the indoor and outdoor track season. I also looked back at my 2002 log to see what I was doing when I ran 29:20. That year, Boston was only a month away and I had been doing more hills, speed and strides, so I was rounding in to peak shape. That makes me feel even better about running 29:15 (chip) off of base and hills.

The weather was really nice, about 35 degrees, partly sunny and (most importantly) fairly calm winds. A little warmer would have been nice, but the lack of wind was great. Before the race I spoke with Eric and we decided to shoot for a 6:00 first mile. After about a 15-minute warmup I changed into my racing clothes and flats and headed to the start for some strides. This race is a little unique because it starts on Summit Avenue which is actually a boulevard. The top men and women start on separate sides of the road. After about a kilometer everyone merges into 1 pack. Since I’m usually near the front of the women, I like to start with them. Plus I can get closer to the timing mat on that side of the street. And, of course, the scenery is better over there.

Here’s a brief description of this mainly out-and-back course; the first mile is mostly a gradual uphill. Mile 2 is a gradual downhill. The 3rd mile includes four 90 degree turns, the only turns on the course and then has some gradual uphill. Early in mile 4 there’s some gradual uphill too. The last “mile” is gradually downhill, especially the first 100+ meters. This is one of the rare races where splits are read at every mile marker. I took my splits too, but didn’t look at them till afterwards. The splits I mention below are what I heard being read, so they’d be gun splits not chip.

My first mile felt really controlled, just like I wanted. Eric was right with me as we went through in 6:00. Soon after that we hooked up with a pack of 4-5 runners. About a minute later, I realized Jim was leading the charge. We stayed together for close to a mile. One of the guys I was following seemed to be rolling along better than anyone, so I just stayed with him. That second mile felt really comfortable, so I was surprised when I heard 11:45. Afterwards there was some talk that it might have been a little short. Again, mile 3 has four turns and we run on some side streets that don’t have the best footing. Nonetheless, I stick with “my guy” as we head back on Summit.

We are a little over halfway through the race. I’m hoping to pick up the pace and reel in some people, including my training partner Joyce who’s about 10 seconds in front. We pass a couple of runners including one of the top local gals, Bonnie, who I can’t remember ever beating. At 3 miles and I hear 17:30-something and quickly calculate that that was a sub-6 mile. I figure that two more 6:00 miles will get me to my goal of 29:30. This little lapse in concentration is enough to create a gap between me and “my guy.” I re-group and don’t let the 2-3 second gap get any larger (yet).

We’re still moving well, yet we’re not really reeling anyone in. I’m focusing on quick strides and driving off my toes. Just before mile four we crest the “hill” and now Joyce is about 2-3 seconds in front of me. I hear 23:30 and know sub-29:20 is possible. As usual, I don’t have any closing speed. Besides, I’m not going to sprint during the first race of the year. A couple of guys pass me and I make no real effort to go with them. When the clock comes into view I see it turning from 28 to 29 minutes. I cross in 29:17 and feel great. I’m not hacking up a lung or crawling around on the ground dry heaving.

My splits looked like this;

5:58 5:58
5:45 11:42 (short?)
5:57 17:39 (long?)
5:49 23:28
5:47 29:15

Joyce pulled away a little to beat me by 7 seconds. “My guy” had a great last mile or two of the race. I’m not positive of his time, but his jersey is a group of master runners and the next master in front of me ran 28:59. I did hold off Bonnie by 6 seconds. In addition, Jenna ran 27:37 and was the 2nd woman to Kristen Nicolini. Jim and Eric both finished in 29:55. I spoke with Evan briefly afterwards and he wasn’t happy with his 28:53. He probably ran 120 miles last week, so I’m not too worried. He’ll have plenty of great races this summer.

Given that my last short race was a 39:02 (6:16 pace) 10k, it's safe to say that running 5:53 pace off of base and hills has me fired up. And while I’m really pumped about my 41 second improvement over last year, I’m even more pumped for my teammates. Jenna’s time was 57 seconds faster than last year. Jim (keep in mind he’s 61 years old) ran 40 seconds faster than last year. Joyce didn’t run last year, but if you look at her 1:29:56 at the Winter Carnival half marathon just 6 weeks ago, her improvement may be the most impressive.

A couple of weeks ago there was some discussion in the comments about how someone running higher mileage would feel. I told Yvonne that they’d probably feel stronger, not faster. That’s exactly how I felt. I didn’t feel like I was moving any faster than “normal” but I felt really strong. Best of all I feel like I can really build on this performance and that I’m no where near my peak.

Quote of the day:

“Everyone in life is looking for a certain rush. Racing is where I get mine.” John Trautmann