Results and (Upcoming) Runs

Yours truly running downhill during last Saturday's race. I hadn't realized how unflattering the combination of gravity and focusing can be to one's appearance... c'est la vie!
Sunday's performance at Medved Madness Trail Race was adequate as I placed 26 out of 69 total finishers, and fifth of 18 in my new age group (M 40-49). My birthday is not until next week, but at least this run will give me the opportunity to get "used to" seeing my name in a new (older) grouping. Great thing is, I really don't feel as if I've hit my prime yet and I have quiet a bit more I can accomplish if I continue to find the will to train.

If not for these two gentlemen, whom I "trailed" behind for much of the run, I likely would have ended up in another county or hopelessly lost...
With the future in mind (and despite the occasional aches and pains), I have begun to continue the process of selecting races to register and train for. While I have to decide on a "tent pole" summer run (marathon? ultra? race walk?), I am planning on continuing to register for as many Rochester Runner of the Year (RROY) races as possible. Given the competitive nature of my age group (which will be my "old"... er... "younger" one due to the rules... I don't plan on "winning," but would like to set a goal of finishing a higher percentage of races in the series than last year.

Coming up are a bunch of rather short distance runs:

May 17 Medved Lilac 10K & 5K Family Fun Run (RROY #3)

June 11 Charlie McMullen Mile Run (RROY #4)

June 21 Medved 5K to Cure ALS (RROY #5)

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Spring Forward Distance Run 15k

Run: 9.3 miles in 1:06:23 min. @ 8:30 a.m. + 2.5 miles
Weather: Fair, 34°F, 81% Humidity, Wind: W @ 10 mph; feels like 26°F.
Pace: 7:11 min/mile
Course: "The course is hilly and a great tune up for late spring marathon or 1/2 marathons. Three Water Stops on course with water, gel and Electrolyte Drink at mile 6. The Start is on Douglas Road and the Finish is on the dirt road next to Stewart Lodge."~ from the race website
Official results: Here courtesy of YellowJacket Racing.

This morning's run marks an anniversary of sorts; the first road race I registered for and begrudgingly got over my insecurities and actually showed up, was the 2005 Spring Forward 15k. That year I finished with a time of 1:17:45 (split: 8:21). The following year, 2006, I improved significantly and made it in 1:06:46.849 (Split: 0:07:11). Though I could swear I also ran this race in 2007 (the results prove me wrong each time!), I purposely did not register for the 2008 edition due to other commitments.

Pre-Race Ruminations: This April 2009 road race marks the start of my fifth year of road race running (holy alliteration!), something if you'd have told me six years ago I would still be doing, I would never believe... but here I still am.

Perhaps the most significant change in my approach from that man who signed up in 2005 (or from even two years ago) is that I now don't feel as "obligated" to run in every single 5-15k that appears on the racing calendar--which once March picks up is at least 2-3 a weekend. Some folks do, I just don't. For me, running has become more of a personal pursuit or challenge than a matter of "me" versus "them," or fulfilling some imaginary requirement of the running community to be at every "big race." Every race is a big race for someone, so props to evryone who crosses the Finish Line.

For whatever reason, this year I've signed up and picked up my number (and perfunctory t-shirt) at the local FleetFeet for the Spring Forward Distance Run 15k and have committed to be at the back of the pack when the bullhorn goes off this morning.

Let's see what happens, shall we?

Post-Race Observations: Due to the benefit of having as friend to run the course with, I believe I may have PR'd at this distance and certainly put together my best run in this particular race, finishing with an approximate time of 1:06:20. The only downfall was that my chest did start aching badly at about mile seven, but I held on until the finish. All-in-all it was another quality
YellowJacket Racing event, that started with a cool wind but ended awash glorious sun!

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Johnny's Runnin' of the Green 2009

Run: 5 miles in :31:54 min. @ 10:30 a.m. + 5 miles
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 29°F, 63% Humidity, Wind: SSW @ 7 mph; feels like 22°F.
Pace: Race--6:30? min./mi, Warm-up/cool-down--8:30 min./mi
Course: Start at 70 State Street (Crowne Plaza), to Exchange, to Ford Street Bridge, cross river and turn right on Wilson Blvd., go to turnaround point (half way) on Wilson between Faculty Road and Fraternity Road, return to Crowne Plaza.
Official Results: Available here courtesy of PCR Timing.

Pre-Run Observations: While I haven't run a road race in over three months (the last race being the New Years' Day Resolution Run), I have been attempting to settle into a training plan to prepare myself for... "who knows what" later this Spring/early summer. Maintaining an established plan can become challenging when the occasional race of interest comes up, and though I want to participate, I try to remain aware of my scheduled runs. Tomorrow's Key Run Workout #3 is scheduled to be a 20 miler.

In an effort to increase my mileage before and after the 5-mile race, but still falling short of the 20 miles, at least for today, I am going to attempt to run both to and from the race start/finish. This should, n effect, double the total distance to ten miles. My thought is to then put in the balance (10 more miles) tomorrow.

I am also considering using this run as speed work rather than a race (but, really, what's the difference?), and a PR is not on my radar for this odd race distance (5 miles). (The last time I "raced" at this distance for time was last March 16, 2007--this race on a slightly different course--placing 57 of 984 after finishing in :31:28 (6:18/M)... looking back I am completely flabbergasted that I did so well.

Post-Race Reflections: After making my way over the roughly 2.5 miles from our home to the race (which was in the general vicinity of my wife's work), I found a bus stop shelter in which to leave my the extra cotton t-shirt I had worn to warm-up in. The weather was perfect for a run with any remnants of winter (ice and snow) pretty much melted out of existence, leaving the shoulders of the roads clear and free of obstructions.

Today's race is the "official" start of the Rochester racing season, so it also provided an opportunity to reconnect with a few of my "running friends" most of whom had taken the winter off (like myself) from racing. It was great to see them again, and to have some folks with which to pace the first few miles. I ended up breaking away from our small pack after mile two and in the end ran a strong :32:00-ish race which was faster than I had anticipated, especially given my lay-off up until about three weeks ago.

The run home following the race was a little more labored and as I made my way back home through the throngs of people awaiting the start of our city's St. Patrick's Day parade, I had a difficult time staying focused. Fortunately, I did make home quickly and was relieved to sit down for a multi-grain English Muffin slathered with crunchy peanut butter... mmmmm!

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

The Training Week That Was... 3/2-3/8

A photo of me coming across the finish line at last year's
Runnin' of the Green--a race I have registered to run this coming Saturday.
Another good week of training, with the only "bump in the road" being an increasingly annoying ache in both of my knees. If memory serves, this seems to be an annual personal "Rite of Spring" (I recall some photographs from previous March-April runs where I am wearing two knee "braces" at the finish!), so a small part of me has just accepted that reality as the way it will be.

A fair and logical concession to age and miles might be to wear the polyurethane Cho-pats for training and minimize the "brace work" during races. This support strategy has been effective in the past.

Here is what went down with my running this past week:

Legend: R = Running, B = Stationary Bicycle

Monday & Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Key Run #1 6.2 miles
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Key Run #2 6.6 miles
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Key Run #3 16.3 miles

TOTAL MILEAGE: R 29.1 (-2.1 miles from the previous week)
Weigh-In*: 189.5lbs. (-2 lbs. from the previous week) [* @ 6:00 a.m. on 3/9/09]

This coming weekend is the first race in the 2009 Rochester Runner of the Year (RROY) series, and shoudl I follow through and actually compete, would mark my first race since January 1. I can't say that I miss competing (as I have not really been in shape), but I do miss the camaraderie with the other runners so I am hoping, barring any further complication--which is unfortunately a possibility--making out for the Johnny's Runnin' of the Green next Saturday.

Breathe in, breathe out... YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!