Last Saturday I ran my first Pacific Association race of the year (and 2nd overall) at the NorCal 10 miler in Redding. I'll sum up my performance in 1 word - BLEH!
After a very consistent month of training in January, I had a disappointing day at my first race of the year - the Kaiser Half Marathon. Although I was excited to head to Redding in a month, I felt like I lacked a bit of direction in the week after Kaiser. But still - I had a great tempo run 4 days after that race, and was back to consistent training for the next few weeks. The only hitch to race prep was a ski trip to Big Sky, MT (getting back 3 days before). I wasn't worried. I would train hard before leaving the week before, then get some light turnover on the track the day I got back (which I felt good running 8x300 in 48-49).
The morning of the race, we woke up to surprisingly warm temperatures. I wouldn't say it ever got hot, but temps close to 70 degrees by the end of the race sure felt hot when I'd hadn't run in warmer than 60 degree whether since the fall. The race course runs out on a bike path along the Sacramento River in Redding, makes a loop through a neighborhood midway, then backtracks toward the start, and finally crossing a bridge and finishing on the other side of the river. It is pretty flat except for some rolling hills in the 3rd & 4th miles, which you hit on the way back in the 6th & 7th miles.
When the gun went off, Sergio Reyes (who ran 48-something for 10 miles last year) took off with 2 runners chasing him. I was part of the next chase group, including teammates Todd Rose & Julian Marsh, which hit the first mile in 5:19 & the 2nd in 5:30. The pace was no problem, and I was right on pace to run around 54 minutes. In the 3rd mile, Todd started surging through the series of hills. I backed off a bit, but hit 4 miles in 21:40 - still just over 54 min pace. But at this point, it was really starting to hurt, especially for so early in the race. It was hot, and I just couldn't find a good rhythm. As we headed into the neighborhood in the 5th mile, I just tried to focus my sight on Carlos Siqueiros up ahead of me. At that point 2 runners from the Strawberry Canyon club blew past me, and masters phenom Jim Sorenson caught me. I tried to relax & focus on a smooth stride to stay with Jim. I kept Jim in contact for several minutes, but every time I tried to relax & increase the pace, I quickly red-lined.
By mile 6, the wheels started coming off. Through the hills in the 7th and 8th miles, I hit both splits slower than 6 minutes. I slowed down to get a full drink of water at the last water stop and couldn't believe how thirsty I was. At least I dropped my pace back under 6 minutes for the last 3 miles, but I fell from 8th place at the 4 mile mark, to 16th at the finish. I'm glad I didn't realize that 48 year old Linda Summers-Smith was less than 30 seconds back, enroute to a new American age group record, because I probably would have gotten scared & run slower. Congrats to her for setting yet another age group record, as well as the women's course record. She also holds the course record for the next PA race on the schedule, which she set in 1995! My final result was 16th place in 56:54.
Shortly after the race I started getting the chills, despite the heat. I wasn't the only runner who struggled, as quite a few runners ran 1-2 minutes slower than they normally would (I was almost 4 minutes slower than my 10 mile split at the Humboldt Half Marathon). Among my buddies, Todd ran well, finishing 4th in 53:47, and Rebel's runner Mike Styczynski ran a PR for 5th in 53:52. Dana joined me for the trip, and although her longest recent run was 6 miles, she felt good over 10 miles, running 1:28. She's excited to use this as a kickstart for her running this Spring.
On the drive home, I had plenty of time to think about the race. If I came up with anything wrong I had done in training, I'd be completely nit-picking. I've run consistent mileage (most weeks between 55 and 65 miles), and gotten 2 solid workouts in every week without over doing it. Maybe I hadn't done a lot of race sharpening work, but that doesn't mean I was unprepared. Maybe I was a little run-down from having been at 8000 feet for 5 days the prior week, or maybe I had a low grade illness (I was feeling a bit "off" after work the day before). Or perhaps I was just unlucky that my 2 off days in 2010 happened to be my race days.
The only thing I can say I was doing wrong was to let a bit of anxiety sneak into some of my workouts & the races. I need to get back to my "just run" philosophy that treated me so well last Fall, and to enjoy the ability that God has given me.
I'll sign off by sharing something I read in Running Times which came in the mail today. Greg McMillan, who coaches several elite runners, including 2:10 marathoner Brett Gotcher, listed "The Five Habits of Highly Effective Runners" (with my own comments)
#1: Don't Dwell: The idea is to shake off bad workouts or races move forward. Every runner has a few bad ones every season, and the best runners drop them and move forward. Well... I know I just wrote a blog post about my crappy race, but hopefully the point comes across that my training is there, so I just need to keep it going. But I am the very analytical type, so this is hard for me sometimes.
#2: Fine Your Sweet Spot in Training: When I first read this, I thought it meant to train your strengths, but I was wrong. The idea is to train at a consistency where you advance your fitness, but not so hard that you struggle to get from workout to workout. This is one thing I have done very well recently.
#3: Focus on Consistency: I really think this is an extension of #2. Don't be a hero in one workout, then barely be able to run the rest of the week. Rather train in such a way where you're building momentum throughout the season.
#4: Be tenacious: I've summed this idea up several times by saying "just run". Being tenacious is important on many levels. You have to be tenacious throughout the grind of training, and over the miles of a race. I'm realizing that "just run" is really an abbreviation for "just keep running and stop thinking so damn much".
#5: Build Your Confidence Consistently: Trust your preparation!
Great points from someone who coaches some amazing runners!
The next race for me will be the Across the Bay 12K a week from Sunday.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Not My Day - Kaiser Recap
This morning I ran 1:13:13 for 9th place in the SF Kaiser Half Marathon. While I ran 3 minutes faster than last year, and had a decent place in a race with 7000 runners, I can't help but be disappointed. Heading into the race, I thought all signs pointed to a PR - good overall mileage, and consistently strong workouts in terms of pace and volume. But early on, as the race started to unfold, it just didn't seem like my day.
The plan was to pace ourselves at 5:20 per mile, with teammates James, Jonathan, Todd (who was just running the first half of the race), and I working together. The first mile in 5:20 didn't feel too bad, but then on a slight downhill we picked up the pace to 5:14. Even before the split it felt a little too fast, so I started to back off. Alone in 6th place now, I tried to keep a steady pace in the 3rd mile, while I watched a group of 4 pull away. I hit my 3rd mile in 5:21 (15:55 total), although I think the mile market was about 5 seconds too far forward. My 4th and 5th miles - still running alone - fell off badly in 5:38 & 5:40. In the 6th we headed downhill toward the ocean, and Todd fell back to run with me. I picked up the pace on the downhill (shocker), and averaged 5:23 for the next 3 miles. I went from struggling to pace myself alone after going out too fast, to feeling some serious tightness on the outside of my lower right leg, which radiated up to my hamstring. The pain wasn't terrible, but it was very distracting and made it that much harder to find a smooth stride and rhythm.
Around mile 7, we left Golden Gate Park, and headed for a roughly 3 miles out & 3 miles back section of the Great Highway along the Pacific Ocean. While it's a beautiful stretch, being able to see so far ahead with almost no scenery change, plus an almost guaranteed headwind one of the 2 directions, makes it a serious mental challenge. Todd dropped off around 7 miles, and said "find your rhythm" as I started down the Great Highway alone. I just tried to keep my sights set on James up ahead. From 7 miles to 9 miles, I barely ever took my eyes off his back. A 20 second deficit shrunk to 12 seconds, then finally to 6 right before we turned around. Miles 9 & 10 were in 11:02 to hit 10 miles in a respectable 54:29 (still under 1:12 pace).
On the run out on the Great Highway, I felt no wind, despite seeing the mile marker flags ripple in the wind. So sure enough at the turnaround just before the 10 mile mark, I felt the fierce wind that I would have to fight for 3 miles. I wish I could say I didn't give up at that point, but the numbers don't lie. My last 3.1 miles were run in 18:40 - slower than 6 minute pace. My legs felt completely dead & it was a struggle to keep a decent pace going. I lost two spots in the last 3 miles, but didn't put up any fight to stay with them.
I should be happy that on a day when nothing really went the right way for me, that I finished with a respectable half marathon time, and 9th place out of 7000 runners. But it was a tough one to swallow. I hadn't had a bad workout in 2010, and my bad day had to come on race day. Maybe I didn't back off enough on my training this past week. But I had trained pretty hard up to the Clarksburg 30K last fall, and that didn't bother me. Perhaps I was nervous leading up to it. But I felt pretty loose on race morning.
I think I have to just chalk it up to an off day. A runner's body is a fickle instrument. You train hard & smart to prepare yourself for race day. But despite your best efforts, every now and then it just doesn't come together. One thing I could control, that I should have done better, was to keep focused and pushing hard even when the day was going great. Being prepared is crucial, but you still have to fight during the race. On a day when you feel great, it's pretty easy, but the rest those days it takes a lot of toughness.
Next up will be the Redding 10 miler on March 6th. Until then, I'll keep the mileage rolling, the workouts strong, oh and make some good ski turns :) I'll be ready to roll in Redding!
The plan was to pace ourselves at 5:20 per mile, with teammates James, Jonathan, Todd (who was just running the first half of the race), and I working together. The first mile in 5:20 didn't feel too bad, but then on a slight downhill we picked up the pace to 5:14. Even before the split it felt a little too fast, so I started to back off. Alone in 6th place now, I tried to keep a steady pace in the 3rd mile, while I watched a group of 4 pull away. I hit my 3rd mile in 5:21 (15:55 total), although I think the mile market was about 5 seconds too far forward. My 4th and 5th miles - still running alone - fell off badly in 5:38 & 5:40. In the 6th we headed downhill toward the ocean, and Todd fell back to run with me. I picked up the pace on the downhill (shocker), and averaged 5:23 for the next 3 miles. I went from struggling to pace myself alone after going out too fast, to feeling some serious tightness on the outside of my lower right leg, which radiated up to my hamstring. The pain wasn't terrible, but it was very distracting and made it that much harder to find a smooth stride and rhythm.
Around mile 7, we left Golden Gate Park, and headed for a roughly 3 miles out & 3 miles back section of the Great Highway along the Pacific Ocean. While it's a beautiful stretch, being able to see so far ahead with almost no scenery change, plus an almost guaranteed headwind one of the 2 directions, makes it a serious mental challenge. Todd dropped off around 7 miles, and said "find your rhythm" as I started down the Great Highway alone. I just tried to keep my sights set on James up ahead. From 7 miles to 9 miles, I barely ever took my eyes off his back. A 20 second deficit shrunk to 12 seconds, then finally to 6 right before we turned around. Miles 9 & 10 were in 11:02 to hit 10 miles in a respectable 54:29 (still under 1:12 pace).
On the run out on the Great Highway, I felt no wind, despite seeing the mile marker flags ripple in the wind. So sure enough at the turnaround just before the 10 mile mark, I felt the fierce wind that I would have to fight for 3 miles. I wish I could say I didn't give up at that point, but the numbers don't lie. My last 3.1 miles were run in 18:40 - slower than 6 minute pace. My legs felt completely dead & it was a struggle to keep a decent pace going. I lost two spots in the last 3 miles, but didn't put up any fight to stay with them.
I should be happy that on a day when nothing really went the right way for me, that I finished with a respectable half marathon time, and 9th place out of 7000 runners. But it was a tough one to swallow. I hadn't had a bad workout in 2010, and my bad day had to come on race day. Maybe I didn't back off enough on my training this past week. But I had trained pretty hard up to the Clarksburg 30K last fall, and that didn't bother me. Perhaps I was nervous leading up to it. But I felt pretty loose on race morning.
I think I have to just chalk it up to an off day. A runner's body is a fickle instrument. You train hard & smart to prepare yourself for race day. But despite your best efforts, every now and then it just doesn't come together. One thing I could control, that I should have done better, was to keep focused and pushing hard even when the day was going great. Being prepared is crucial, but you still have to fight during the race. On a day when you feel great, it's pretty easy, but the rest those days it takes a lot of toughness.
Next up will be the Redding 10 miler on March 6th. Until then, I'll keep the mileage rolling, the workouts strong, oh and make some good ski turns :) I'll be ready to roll in Redding!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
The Monkey & The Hay
The Monkey
Is off my back. It was a small monkey, and I didn't exactly kick it to the ground, but it's off my back. Over the past year+ I've really struggled at the 5K distance. I would run fast in track workouts, then long at strong in race distances from 10 miles to 30K. But despite workouts pointing toward mid 15 minute 5K times, I couldn't seem run under 16 minutes for the life of me. I thought a 16:07 in the fall of 2008 (which was 4 days after a 6 mile XC race and 24 hours after a red-eye flight) would fall quickly in 2009. But sigh... despite improving at every other distance in 2009, I got slower at the 5K.
On Thursday night, I went down to the track on my own to run the workout the rest of the team had done Tuesday. It called for a 5000 meters at "hard tempo" pace (i.e. slightly slower than a 10K race pace), followed by a little bit more work at a faster pace. Based on recent workouts, I figured I'd go for 5:10 - 5:15 on the track for my fast tempo. Before the run I was a bit tired from some birthday celebrating (32 now!) the night before. Then when I got to the track, it was packed with joggers from local running groups. I basically almost talked myself out of the workout twice. But when I got running, 77 second laps felt pretty good. I tried not to focus on the distance and just run. My first two 1600 meter splits were 5:07 & 5:08. At that point I realized I was on pace to run right around 16 flat, so I looked at my watch with a lap to go, then picked it up to a 74 second last lap to run 15:59. I capped the workout off with 800 meters in 2:25 & 300 meters in 46 seconds.
Funny how it was it was a crowded Thursday night where I ran by myself to get that monkey off my back. Maybe 16 minutes had turned into a mental barrier, or maybe I was putting too much pressure on myself. Now hopefully I can knock some serious time off my new post college PR.
The Hay
Is in the barn. I just ran my last workout before the Kaiser Half Marathon. 3 x mile in 5:05, 5:03, 4:56, followed by a 2:20 800. The past month was the most consistent month of training that I've had. 270 miles total, with 2 solid workouts every week, my fastest 5K in 8+ years, and my best long tempo run. It time to taper this week, then see what I can do Sunday!
Is off my back. It was a small monkey, and I didn't exactly kick it to the ground, but it's off my back. Over the past year+ I've really struggled at the 5K distance. I would run fast in track workouts, then long at strong in race distances from 10 miles to 30K. But despite workouts pointing toward mid 15 minute 5K times, I couldn't seem run under 16 minutes for the life of me. I thought a 16:07 in the fall of 2008 (which was 4 days after a 6 mile XC race and 24 hours after a red-eye flight) would fall quickly in 2009. But sigh... despite improving at every other distance in 2009, I got slower at the 5K.
On Thursday night, I went down to the track on my own to run the workout the rest of the team had done Tuesday. It called for a 5000 meters at "hard tempo" pace (i.e. slightly slower than a 10K race pace), followed by a little bit more work at a faster pace. Based on recent workouts, I figured I'd go for 5:10 - 5:15 on the track for my fast tempo. Before the run I was a bit tired from some birthday celebrating (32 now!) the night before. Then when I got to the track, it was packed with joggers from local running groups. I basically almost talked myself out of the workout twice. But when I got running, 77 second laps felt pretty good. I tried not to focus on the distance and just run. My first two 1600 meter splits were 5:07 & 5:08. At that point I realized I was on pace to run right around 16 flat, so I looked at my watch with a lap to go, then picked it up to a 74 second last lap to run 15:59. I capped the workout off with 800 meters in 2:25 & 300 meters in 46 seconds.
Funny how it was it was a crowded Thursday night where I ran by myself to get that monkey off my back. Maybe 16 minutes had turned into a mental barrier, or maybe I was putting too much pressure on myself. Now hopefully I can knock some serious time off my new post college PR.
The Hay
Is in the barn. I just ran my last workout before the Kaiser Half Marathon. 3 x mile in 5:05, 5:03, 4:56, followed by a 2:20 800. The past month was the most consistent month of training that I've had. 270 miles total, with 2 solid workouts every week, my fastest 5K in 8+ years, and my best long tempo run. It time to taper this week, then see what I can do Sunday!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Next Runner In the Family
Here is my niece Callie along side my sister braving the cold to run a 5K! She ran her first one at age 6, and is now 7. I love the hat & gloves combo. Keep it up!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
On Deck: SF Kaiser Half Marathon
When I first started showing up for West Valley track workouts in late 2007, I made a few rules about me being a “runner” again. 1) I would only run on days I felt like running. Or perhaps more accurately, I wouldn’t run if I really didn’t feel it. 2) Running wouldn’t get in the way of being social. 3) I would have fun.
At first I enjoyed showing up at the track & developing my speed again. But outside of Tuesday workouts, overall mileage was light, long runs were occasional, and secondary workouts were non-existent.
In 2008 I started racing again on a regular basis. My initial results were uninspiring (not like my recent results are either), but I raced my way back into shape and steadily improved. With each mini breakthrough, I saw the opportunity to improve aspects of my training. I also got a taste of that fire back!
Fast forward to now, and I’ve thrown rules #1 & #2 out the window. Last Sunday night, I drove back from skiing, rather tired, but still got myself out the door for 7.5 miles when I’d have preferred the TV & a beer. The Friday before that, I passed on a happy hour to make sure I got a secondary workout in the books.
The key – and I’ve talked about this frequently, is that I’ve stuck very true to #3. The West Valley crew is exactly the type of team I want to train and race with. We workout hard, but have a fun time doing it. Running doesn’t consume anybody’s life, but something we all love doing, and work hard at. I’ve also enjoyed running with and competing against runners from other teams.
If a runner can’t enjoy the grind of training, he’ll ultimately lose the focus and desire necessary to carry on. Races will become stressful rather than exciting. But if he can enjoy track workouts, tempo runs, hill workouts, regular runs, and long runs, then race day becomes a privilege where all the pieces come together.
While I there are days I won’t feel like running, but I’ll push myself out the door anyway, these days are the exception. Most days I’ve been excited to get out and run. Quite often I’m feeling good out on a run, and extending what would have been a 7-8 mile run into 9-10. Even with weekend ski trips, I’ve only missed 1 day (a well deserved day off) all month. I’ve averaged 59 miles the past 4 weeks. In workouts, I don’t feel a lot of speed right now, but my tempo runs and strength intervals have been very consistent with a lot of volume in the low 5 min / mile pace range. There hasn’t been a single workout that I feel like I’ve just crushed, but every single one has been solid.
My next race is the Kaiser Half Marathon in SF the morning of the Super Bowl (Feb 7th). I’ve been happy with my strength and volume, but just wasn’t sure if I was ready for the race until Monday night. Our top runner – Jonathan Charlesworth – decided to join me for a long tempo run. With Charlesworth tagging along, I knew the pace wouldn’t be slow. We immediately ran faster than the 5:25 pace I had planned, hitting the first 3 miles at 5:15 pace. I slowed down a little toward the end but finished 7.5 miles @ 5:23 pace. A week and a half before my 1:11:08 PR last fall, I ran an 8 mile tempo at 5:28 pace. I’m feeling ready for this race!
Now if I could only manage to run 5-flat pace for a 5K!
At first I enjoyed showing up at the track & developing my speed again. But outside of Tuesday workouts, overall mileage was light, long runs were occasional, and secondary workouts were non-existent.
In 2008 I started racing again on a regular basis. My initial results were uninspiring (not like my recent results are either), but I raced my way back into shape and steadily improved. With each mini breakthrough, I saw the opportunity to improve aspects of my training. I also got a taste of that fire back!
Fast forward to now, and I’ve thrown rules #1 & #2 out the window. Last Sunday night, I drove back from skiing, rather tired, but still got myself out the door for 7.5 miles when I’d have preferred the TV & a beer. The Friday before that, I passed on a happy hour to make sure I got a secondary workout in the books.
The key – and I’ve talked about this frequently, is that I’ve stuck very true to #3. The West Valley crew is exactly the type of team I want to train and race with. We workout hard, but have a fun time doing it. Running doesn’t consume anybody’s life, but something we all love doing, and work hard at. I’ve also enjoyed running with and competing against runners from other teams.
If a runner can’t enjoy the grind of training, he’ll ultimately lose the focus and desire necessary to carry on. Races will become stressful rather than exciting. But if he can enjoy track workouts, tempo runs, hill workouts, regular runs, and long runs, then race day becomes a privilege where all the pieces come together.
While I there are days I won’t feel like running, but I’ll push myself out the door anyway, these days are the exception. Most days I’ve been excited to get out and run. Quite often I’m feeling good out on a run, and extending what would have been a 7-8 mile run into 9-10. Even with weekend ski trips, I’ve only missed 1 day (a well deserved day off) all month. I’ve averaged 59 miles the past 4 weeks. In workouts, I don’t feel a lot of speed right now, but my tempo runs and strength intervals have been very consistent with a lot of volume in the low 5 min / mile pace range. There hasn’t been a single workout that I feel like I’ve just crushed, but every single one has been solid.
My next race is the Kaiser Half Marathon in SF the morning of the Super Bowl (Feb 7th). I’ve been happy with my strength and volume, but just wasn’t sure if I was ready for the race until Monday night. Our top runner – Jonathan Charlesworth – decided to join me for a long tempo run. With Charlesworth tagging along, I knew the pace wouldn’t be slow. We immediately ran faster than the 5:25 pace I had planned, hitting the first 3 miles at 5:15 pace. I slowed down a little toward the end but finished 7.5 miles @ 5:23 pace. A week and a half before my 1:11:08 PR last fall, I ran an 8 mile tempo at 5:28 pace. I’m feeling ready for this race!
Now if I could only manage to run 5-flat pace for a 5K!
Friday, January 1, 2010
2009 mileage stats
In 2009 I ran:
2272 miles
295 days (with 70 days off) - running 81% of the days
On average:
43.6 miles / week
6.2 miles / day
7.7 miles / days not taken off
There were a few periods of downtime (a January ski trip, a sore foot in March, my wedding and honeymoon in June, then my post season break this year in December). Excluding those 42 days, and any light runs during those times, my stats breakdown:
2233 miles over 323 calendar days and 284 days running (88%) for an average of 6.15 days run / week.
On average:
48.4 miles per week
6.9 miles per day
7.9 miles per days not taken off
I like to emphasize quality over quantity, but mileage still matters. In the summer & fall I improved my consistency over the first half of the year, with a decent number of 60+ mile weeks. For 2010, I need to avoid numerous sub 50 mile weeks, and push into the 70 range when I can. I've always thought downtime is important between seasons, but the 6 weeks total that I took in 2009 was a bit too much. Fitness wise, I'm ready for a heavier load, after completing my first full, uninterrupted calendar year of training since college. The key is to find the balance between marriage, training, work, and other friendships & relationships. Dana has been very supportive and encouraging of my running. It's been fun to see her improve as a runner as well - dropping her half marathon PR from 1:52 down to 1:44 this year!
2272 miles
295 days (with 70 days off) - running 81% of the days
On average:
43.6 miles / week
6.2 miles / day
7.7 miles / days not taken off
There were a few periods of downtime (a January ski trip, a sore foot in March, my wedding and honeymoon in June, then my post season break this year in December). Excluding those 42 days, and any light runs during those times, my stats breakdown:
2233 miles over 323 calendar days and 284 days running (88%) for an average of 6.15 days run / week.
On average:
48.4 miles per week
6.9 miles per day
7.9 miles per days not taken off
I like to emphasize quality over quantity, but mileage still matters. In the summer & fall I improved my consistency over the first half of the year, with a decent number of 60+ mile weeks. For 2010, I need to avoid numerous sub 50 mile weeks, and push into the 70 range when I can. I've always thought downtime is important between seasons, but the 6 weeks total that I took in 2009 was a bit too much. Fitness wise, I'm ready for a heavier load, after completing my first full, uninterrupted calendar year of training since college. The key is to find the balance between marriage, training, work, and other friendships & relationships. Dana has been very supportive and encouraging of my running. It's been fun to see her improve as a runner as well - dropping her half marathon PR from 1:52 down to 1:44 this year!
Karen Lawrence New Year's Eve run
I've enjoyed bringing Dana back to Lookout Mountain, GA for the past week to spend Christmas and New Years with my family and some old friends. I went for a couple long(ish) runs on the Lookout Mountain Battlefield trails - including a 10 miler with my high school teammate Jeff.
On New Year's Eve, I rekindled an old tradition of running the Karen Lawrence Run for St. Jude's (Children's Research Hospital). The race - which has been run in Chattanooga every year since 1979 - was started by Karen and her family to raise money for St. Judes, which had treated Karen for leukemia over the prior year. Sadly, Karen's condition relapsed, and she passed away in 1980 at the age of 11. Every year since, hundreds of runners have gathered in the evening on New Year's Eve to support the hospital, and to bring in the new year with a fun 4 mile run through downtown Chattanooga. This year Karen Lawrence's niece rang the siren to start the race.
I can't remember for sure, but I'd guess this was my 7th or 8th time running the race - my first year was (I think) in 1993 and the most recent in 2002. I won in 1997, 1998, and 2001 - all during my college years - with a best time of 19:57 over the moderately hilly course in '97. I was hoping to average around 5:10 miles this year. I figured that pace had an outside chance of winning, but most years would be 2nd or 3rd.
Since I took a week off following Kentucky (but jumped right back into to training afterward) - I wanted to go out conservatively, and certainly not lead. At the gun two college runners took off and immediately opened a gap, while I settled back with the chase pack. I didn't get a mile split, but I think I was around 5:20 (net uphill), and the 2 leaders were about 10 seconds ahead. As we started back downhill I picked up my pace to try to catch the leaders. At times it felt like the gap was shrinking, but was we ended the first of 2 loops, Patrick Hall - who was my sister Debby's assistant cross country coach at Covenant College - pulled along side of me. I knew I needed to stay with him, and I momentarily matched his pace. Patrick had no interest in letting it come to a late race kick, so he kept the hammer down, opening a gap heading back up the hill. I kept pressing in the last mile, but all my efforts only kept the gap at a steady 10 seconds.
My final finish was 21:11 for 4th place. It was a weird race, as I never felt like I was hurting that bad, but I just had no zip in my legs. The winner finished in 20:30, with 2nd place in 20:50. I wasn't thrilled with my performance & particularly my time, but it wasn't a terrible effort either.
Debby surprised herself running in the mid 26 minute range (after saying she'd run 28 minutes), and finished as the 2nd woman. Dana finished around 32 minutes, launching a nice kick at the end.
After the race I was really flattered as people still remembered my high school days in Chattanooga. In particular I was touched by the applause I received when I picked up my 30-34 age group award. It was also great to catch up with John Hunt - who had covered local cross country & track for the Chattanooga Free Press while I was in high school.
On New Year's Eve, I rekindled an old tradition of running the Karen Lawrence Run for St. Jude's (Children's Research Hospital). The race - which has been run in Chattanooga every year since 1979 - was started by Karen and her family to raise money for St. Judes, which had treated Karen for leukemia over the prior year. Sadly, Karen's condition relapsed, and she passed away in 1980 at the age of 11. Every year since, hundreds of runners have gathered in the evening on New Year's Eve to support the hospital, and to bring in the new year with a fun 4 mile run through downtown Chattanooga. This year Karen Lawrence's niece rang the siren to start the race.
I can't remember for sure, but I'd guess this was my 7th or 8th time running the race - my first year was (I think) in 1993 and the most recent in 2002. I won in 1997, 1998, and 2001 - all during my college years - with a best time of 19:57 over the moderately hilly course in '97. I was hoping to average around 5:10 miles this year. I figured that pace had an outside chance of winning, but most years would be 2nd or 3rd.
Since I took a week off following Kentucky (but jumped right back into to training afterward) - I wanted to go out conservatively, and certainly not lead. At the gun two college runners took off and immediately opened a gap, while I settled back with the chase pack. I didn't get a mile split, but I think I was around 5:20 (net uphill), and the 2 leaders were about 10 seconds ahead. As we started back downhill I picked up my pace to try to catch the leaders. At times it felt like the gap was shrinking, but was we ended the first of 2 loops, Patrick Hall - who was my sister Debby's assistant cross country coach at Covenant College - pulled along side of me. I knew I needed to stay with him, and I momentarily matched his pace. Patrick had no interest in letting it come to a late race kick, so he kept the hammer down, opening a gap heading back up the hill. I kept pressing in the last mile, but all my efforts only kept the gap at a steady 10 seconds.
My final finish was 21:11 for 4th place. It was a weird race, as I never felt like I was hurting that bad, but I just had no zip in my legs. The winner finished in 20:30, with 2nd place in 20:50. I wasn't thrilled with my performance & particularly my time, but it wasn't a terrible effort either.
Debby surprised herself running in the mid 26 minute range (after saying she'd run 28 minutes), and finished as the 2nd woman. Dana finished around 32 minutes, launching a nice kick at the end.
After the race I was really flattered as people still remembered my high school days in Chattanooga. In particular I was touched by the applause I received when I picked up my 30-34 age group award. It was also great to catch up with John Hunt - who had covered local cross country & track for the Chattanooga Free Press while I was in high school.
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