The thrill of victory… twice.

Everyone knows that distance runners are slow lumbering beasts, while soccer players are quick agile cat-like creatures and to prove it my soccer playing coworker Inis challenged me to a 100 meter race. More accurately, I challenged him to a 100 meter race after listening to him talk smack for 2 days about how he could easily out sprint me. He was lecturing anyone who would listen on the difference between fast twitch and slow twitch muscles, and he would use his abundance of fast twitch muscles blow past me in short race. The timing for the race could not have been better. On Thursday afternoon we were having a once a year all building meeting. Immediately following the meeting everyone in the office went out to the back parking lot to witness the big race.

To no one’s surprise the race did not go his way, but that did not stop his smack talking. He has now challenged me to a 50 meter race, which I have agreed to, on condition that if I win he cannot talk while at work for a week. I don’t think he is going to accept.

Wegmans 5k Start

Next up was the Wegmans 5k, the ugly redheaded stepchild of Flower City Challenge. The “real” race is the half marathon, but as I’m in no shape to run let alone race 13 miles I decided to slum it in the 5k while Brett, Kenny and Matt ran the half.

Seething mass of humanity.

I did a bit better than I expect, but either the race course was long or I feel asleep in the last mile. I didn’t wear a watch, so the only split I had was 5:06 for the first mile. I finished in first place with a time of 16:37 and never felt like I fell apart. I may have been lulled into a false sense of running fast because I spent a good part of the middle race following my police escort past the half marathon back of the packers. It is hard to feel slow when you are flying past people, even if those people are jogging. It was a fun morning, not only did I win a jar of organic cashew butter, but I got to watch my teammates kill it in the half! 5k results here.

Playing Ketchup

What did the fast tomato say to the slow tomato? Catch up!

As I am want to do, I have neglected the blog for far too long and know I have to get caught up.

I’ll start on a positive note. I won the Daniel’s 5k for the 3rd time in 3 tries (though not in consecutive years). The people who organize the Daniel’s 5k (Daniel’s parents and friends) do a wonderful job of putting on the race every year.

: Chatting with the competition.

: And we are off.

: Cresting the hill with my escort.

: My close up.

The Daniel’s course is mostly an out and back with a lap around the track at the finish. Most years miles .5-1.5 are into a very strong headwind, and this year was no exception. I started out slowly and ran the first half mile behind a 12-year-old sprinter, then I ran the next mile behind the guy in the Yellowjacket Racing singlet. He was doing some fancy zigging and zagging so I couldn’t draft off him, but I just held my line and plowed along behind him until the turn around. I hit the halfway point in about 9 minutes and then took off with the wind and closed the race in about 8 minutes. I finished in 17:02 which isn’t a very good time for me but was 40 second better than the next guy so I’ll take it. Results here.

I did another “5k” this past weekend but it was such a poorly run race, both by me and the organizers that I don’t even want to name it. I’ll just give the low lights.

advertised as a 5 mile and a 5k race
Arrived at race to find the maps said 4.8 miles and 3.5 miles
Races were actually 4.75 miles and 3.3 miles
No traffic control on the 5 mile despite part of the race running through downtown Poughkeepsie
Race started 10 minutes late
Made to stand on the line for 15 minutes (called to line 5 of 9 didn’t start running until 10 after 9)
5 mile race started 50 meters behind 5k race so the fast 5 mile runners slammed into the back of the slow 5k runners/walkers after about 10 seconds

This was easily the worst organized race I’ve ever run and it was supposed to be my final race of the Spring season. I’m now hoping to squeeze in one more 5k before the baby comes but we will see. My allergies are so bad right now that there probably isn’t any point in trying to race anyway.

Roadkill’s Big Weekend

Roadkill Racing took the track and the roads this weekend competing in distances 5000 meters to marathon and racked up two PR’s two wins and 8 very tired legs.

Kenny kicked things off at 8 am in New Holland, PA. Then he spent the next 2 hours 35 minutes 30 seconds racing around the rounds of Amish Country. He not only crushed his previous marathon PR but he won the race and a big fat check as well. Based on his time I’m guessing he has just been toying with us in the shorter races this winter, either that or he was secretly doing tempo runs before the races ala Matt Roberts. Tons of miles and smart training really paid off for Kenny!

Kenny Winning The Garden Spot Village Marathon in 2:35:30.

While Kenny was cruising past the 20 mile mark of his marathon, Matt was lining up for 25 laps of fun at the ROC City Classic. Matt is the only person I know who had a softer 10k PR than me. How someone can have a 16 minute 5k PR a 2:40 marathon PR and a 10k just a few ticks under 36 minutes is beyond my meager understanding. Matt managed to get the finish line before Kenny finished his race (assuming both races started exactly on time) and in the process PR’d by over a minute 30 seconds finishing in 3rd place with a time of 34:21.08. I don’t have any pictures of his race but I can only assume he looked like this…

How Matt probably looked setting his 10k PR.

Technically Brett was running for Damien College at the ROC City Classic, but I’m still going to claim his performance for RKR. He and I ran the 5000 meter race at Nazareth’s annual track meet many hours after Matt’s race. By the time our race rolled around it had turned into a beautiful spring day- upper 40′s bright sun and just a bit of wind (which for some reason still feels like a gale once you start racing it in.) Brett and I are both still chasing a sub 16 5k and we each had high hopes of accomplishing that at this race. The only other seed-time close to 16 minutes was for Matt Fedrizzi a junior from Nazareth. Matt, Brett and I talked a bit before the race, and we decided we all wanted to come through the first mile in 5:06-5:10. As tends to happen in these situations we all came through the mile in 5:02-5:04. I don’t have any pictures of this race either so I will use stock footage of other track meets to show how I was feeling during the race.

How I felt running 5:04 during the first mile of the race.

Brett was running a few seconds ahead of me pretty much from the gun, but for some reason Matt decided to run right on my shoulder for the first mile. He wasn’t really trying to pass me, and why he didn’t just draft off me I can’t really say. After 4 laps of him breathing right in my ear I started making some attempts to drop him and catch up to Brett but I was unsuccessful on both accounts. I’m not really sure what kind of pace I was running during the second mile. I know on 1 of the laps we ran a 77 because Matt’s coach (and RKR runner Rob Castor) was yelling splits but the rest of the time I wasn’t really paying attention. By mile 2 I was in a considerable amount of distress. Brett hand pulled a good 50 meters ahead, Matt was still huffing and puffing in my right ear and I was fairly sure I needed to finish in 5:05 at least if I wanted to break 16 minutes.

How I felt by the end of mile 2.

My less kind internal voice tells me that after mile 2 I gave up. The more nurturing internal voice tells me that after mile 2 I started running smart. Either way with 4.5 laps to go I let Matt go past me. I was tired of him breathing in my ear, and tired of dragging him around the track. I decided I would race for 2nd place and accomplish that with as little effort as possible. Even when I slowed way down Matt seemed uncertain if he really wanted to pass me. When he finally did pull ahead he didn’t cut over to the rail and I found my self having to run on the line between lane 1 and 2 so I could draft off him. After about 300 meters he did finally pull up to the rail, it was about that time that we went by Rob who was screaming at Matt to get moving, he has just run an 83 second 400, which was no surprise at all to me ( I was just happy it wasn’t 90 seconds.) I stayed behind Matt for the next 3 laps, and forgot all about Brett, trying to win the race or trying to break 16 minutes. The only thing on my mind was getting to 500 to go and kicking to the finish. After a few more 83 second laps it was time to make and end to the race. Coming off the far turn into the final lap I made a move past Matt and began my kick. I have no idea why I assumed I could out kick this 20 year college kid I’d never seen run before. It never even occurred to me that he might actually have a better kick than me, it isn’t like I am capable of running even a 55 second 400 when I’m fresh. But as I went by him and started the final lap (clock was just hitting 15:10) I knew I was going to beat him, I also noticed Brett for the first time and knew I had no shot at catching him.

How I felt beating some random college kid for 2nd place a tiny DIII track meet.

I ended up running the last lap in 68 or 69 seconds and finishing in second place with about 3 seconds to spare with a time of 16:18.23 (.63 seconds slower than last year). Brett won the race with a time of 16:08.18, and I owe him a beer. Can he lose his NCAA eligibility for betting a beer on a race he is running in? Meet Results Here. I’m a bit disappointed looking back at the race, not because I didn’t win or because I didn’t break 16 minutes, but because if I had kept grinding it out during the last mile of the race I would have run my fastest time in years. A few more 80′s instead of 83′s and I could have run my second fastest 5k ever. I have a 5k each of the next 2 weekends so I have will have a chance to redeem myself!

Few more pics from Johnny’s

Baltimore and Annapolis Trail Marathon (not a trail marathon) (Mike)

Technically this was not my first marathon. I completed the Rochester Marathon in September 2008 in approxmiately 3 hours and 48 minutes. That race was a horrible experience for a few reasons…most significantly because I had only been running for about 2.5 months after a hiatus of several years…I could go on but I’d rather not stir up those bad memories. That said, I’d prefer to consider the B+A Marathon my “debut.”

Also throughout this post, I’m going to take some digs at Josh because he’s the one who convinced me to do a marathon to begin with. I was (at best) lukewarm on the idea of taking on 26.2 miles, but Josh was ambitious. Why does that merit harassing him, you ask? Because in the midst of his hard training he went and got himself injured (see the post below). Mostly I’m just jealous because he’s faster than me now at anything shorter than 26.2 miles.

Race morning could not have been more perfect. There was no wind, overcast skies, and a touch of humidity with temperatures hovering in the mid to high 40s. Such ideal conditions helped to bolster my spirits, which were (again) lukewarm at best. My training had gone well in some respects but poorly in others. My mileage was crap (averaged 55-60 miles over the previous four months) but I did manage a number of very strong long runs and workouts. I knew I could run low-six-min pace with ease, but I was not at all confident that I could stick to it after 20 miles.

The race began promptly at 8am. The B+A Marathon carries a small field–only about 300 runners started the race. The fellow to my right in the picture above took an early lead but backed off after about a quarter mile (he would ultimately finish in third place), leaving me in the lead alone. Despite a deliberate effort to take it easy, I hit the first mile mark in 6:03. Undoubtedly the easiest six minute mile that I’ve ever run. At this point, I was happy that Josh was not present, because he probably would have run a 5:45 thinking it was a 6:10.

After two miles, a middle aged-looking runner came up on my shoulder and we ran together for awhile. He said he was looking to run “in the 6:20s” which sounded great to me. My (conservative) plan was simply to remain between 6:15 and 6:25 pace for as long as I could. We split miles 2, 3, and 4 in 6:14, 6:19, and 6:09. After the 6:09, my competitor accelerated a bit more, and I decided to just let him go. A quick glance behind me revealed that, unless he comes back later in the race, I’d likely be on my own for the next 22 miles. At this point Josh was (most likely) happily driving to Johnny’s back in Rochester rather than cruising through the early miles with me!

The next six miles flew by: 6:20, 6:25, 6:22, 6:11, 6:13, 6:23. I felt like a million bucks. My confidence grew with each passing mile: “I can do this, it really couldn’t be easier. Should I speed up? No! Don’t do something you will likely regret.” I sipped the road-side gatorade every two miles or so, hoping to fend off the inevitable late race fatigue. Had Josh been there, we could have comfortably maintained a casual conversation about how stupid Republicans are, or something.

Sometime in the eleventh mile, I detected the very first sign of fatigue. I was hardly noticeable and is now somewhat hard to describe. Instead of feeling 100% bouncy, the pace started to feel like it took a little effort to sustain. 6:17 and then 6:24. A brief and mild uphill stretch of trail took me down to a 6:33 13th mile. I still felt strong but mile after mile, I was tiring. For now, I managed to hold the pace: 6:28, 6:21, 6:22 miles tok me through 16 miles. Still no big deal but no small matter either. At this point, Josh was probably comfortably warming up for Johnny’s instead of suffering through the second half of a marathon with me!

Miles 17 and 18 contained hills. Familiar hills near my apartment–not huge–that I run up and down nearly every day. Given my conservative strategy, I didn’t push here. 6:37 and 6:32. It’s also not hard to strike a deal with oneself to “take it easy, don’t risk it” after having run for nearly 2 hours.

A 6:22 and a 6:23 got me through 20 miles, now back on pace. At this point I was tired, period. Running 6:20 miles was now very hard. My legs were heavy and my quads felt terribly torn up. I could see the leader on the long straight sections of the trail, painfully far away. Bystanders informed me that he was 2 minutes ahead. I managed to do the math in my head: 2 minutes in six miles means….no wait, I can’t do this math. If only Josh was here, he could have figured it out. Or at least shared the pain–he was probably halfway through Johnny’s by now!

I managed 6:24 and 6:27 for miles 21 and 22. “It’s only a four mile race left.” 6:46. “It’s only a 5K left.” 6:52. “OK, just break seven minutes per mile and I’ll still finish in the 2:40s.” 6:53. “How the hell was that under 7???”

With one mile left, I finally understood that I was not about to completely fall apart. This realization was reassuring and propelled me to a 6:37 finishing mile. It was so nice to stop running, and I was very content with my time of 2:47:57 and 2nd place finish (results here). Karyn collected me and fed me water and pizza (she had finished the half marathon in a strong time–2nd in her age group–about an hour prior to my finish).

Looking ahead, I know that I am capable of running faster. Combined with better training, this experience will help me greatly. Possibly at the Boston Marathon next April, but I won’t fully commit to it just yet. It has been exciting to get back into shape after a disastrous 2012 summer. I’m ready to go for some shorter race PRs during the remainder of 2013!

Johnny’s Runnin’ of the Green 2013

I ran Johnny’s 3 years ago, but haven’t had a chance to run it since. The course has changed a bit, but it is still a flat fast course with good competition. 3 years ago I finished in 17th place with a time of 28:05. I managed to drop 1 minute off my time this year, but that only moved me up 5 spots to 12th place.

With the 5k Hospice run gone, Johnny’s is now the second most competitive race in the Rochester area, trailing only the Bergen 5k. Johnny’s may be as competitive 1-5 but nothing can come close to Bergen’s overall depth (it takes a sub 16 minute performance just to crack the top 25). As you can see in the video above, Stotan Racing made the trip out from Syracuse and dominated the race from the gun. They may have gotten quickly away from me, but I had plenty of people to race with all 5 miles including Roadkill teammates Brett, Kenny, Matt and Joe.

Team photo op

I have to give a special thanks to Derrick Jones, who said while passing me shortly after mile 1 “come with us” and so I did, for another mile anyway. I was settling in to a comfortable pace but he reminded me it was a race and that motivated me to keep pushing the whole way.

I think I might have been frustrating Brett with my pacing. I kept speeding up and slowing down as I teetered on the brink an aerobic cliff, I’m sure he would have prefered it if I ran steady so he could draft off me on the way back into the wind.

Josh chasing Kenny

The last mile of the race I felt like I was running at a dead sprint trying to chase down Kenny and break away from the pack of runners I knew was behind me. While I was unable to makeup any ground, I was able to hold off the 6 runners within striking distance.

My time of 27:06 is my 3rd fastest ever for a 5 mile race and my fastest for a certified course (although my PR is on a long course). I won my age group and a bottle of wine plus I picked up 3 points in the RROY standings. Hopefully I don’t need to use this as one of my top 6 races for the series, but that is largely going to depend on who decides to show up at the rest of the race in the series.