in24 Race Challenge – Big weekend in Austin

This weekend brought the first annual Ace Cash Express-Back on My Feet in24 Race Challenge to Austin, TX.  The race series starting in Philadelphia, PA 5 years ago features a 24-hour ultra marathon, a 5-person team relay as well as two individual 5-mile races.  One held at sunset on Saturday evening, the second one held at sunrise on Sunday morning.

I have friends who have run 100 mile races, 50 mile races and 24-hour events in the past – something I have never attempted since I started running in 2005.  To be honest, the thought really has never crossed my mind at this point.  I still have one distance running goal that I am chasing with all of my focus and passion for the sport – and until that goal is met, or I realize that it cannot be met – I do not see me entering an ultra marathon of any shape or size.

But given my role as Executive Director of Back on My Feet Austin – I was fortunate enough to have a front row seat in the planning, execution and management of the first year race in good old 512 and I have a new-found respect for the 37 runners who participated in the Lone Ranger Ultra.

The runners showed up a couple of hours before the 10:00 a.m. start on Saturday and started to set their tents up on the Camp Mabry parade ground.  I met most of them the previous evening at Rogue Running downtown as they came in to pick up their packets and have their vitals taken by medical professionals so that their resting heart rate, weight, temperature and blood pressure could be recorded.

These benchmarks would be used during the event if necessary to make sure that the on-site medical teams could monitor athletes for symptoms of dehydration, heat exhaustion or any other maladies that moving ones body forward for 24 consecutive hours may create.

As we staged the runners, took 26.2 seconds of silence to remember the tragedy in Boston it was my finger on the horn that would start the race.  It was amazing to see the first laps turned by the athletes and watch as they focused on the miles ahead that would stretch one for a full day.

As morning became afternoon and afternoon became evening the miles continued to pile up.

At 7:00 p.m. 150 or so 5-mile racers loaded up into the starting corral for the Sunset Run and I passed over official Race Starter duties to my daughter Landry – who executed a perfect “Runners to your mark!” at 2 years, 8 months old.

As we wrapped up the awards ceremony for the Sunset Run and participants enjoyed a hot meal from My Fit Foods and cold beer compliments of New Belgium Brewery the Lone Rangers continued around the course into the dark of night.

At 4:00 a.m. when I began stirring after grabbing a couple of hours sleep, they still were making their way around the 5-mile loop with their headlamps shining the way.

I decided that after conducting the pre-race briefing for the Pajama Loop Runners prior to the 7:00 a.m. race, I would hop into the event and run with the group.  My legs were sore from standing the previous day, I was not fresh and certainly not ready to run a best ever 5-miler – but I knew better than to complain as the Lone Rangers continued around the course as our race started.

It was a small event and I quickly found myself out front behind the Gator that was serving as the lead vehicle.  I let the staff drop behind me as I knew the route and lead the second place runners around the loop.  By the turnaround point I had opened up a lead of 4-5 minutes on the 2nd place runner and I was running silently alone through the course.

I imagined for a moment what it must be like for the Lone Ranger participants to continue to run by themselves mile after mile, lap after lap.  As I passed two of the Lone Rangers who were walking the hilly section of the base together, they both let out a cheer for me as I sped past – and all I could do was smile.  What in the world was I doing that deserved their cheers?  They were the ones who were out there doing something truly remarkable.

As I hit the final mile of the race I took everything in, ran around the retired tanks and fighter jets and made my way to the finish line.  For the second time in a month I was fortunate enough to add a first place finish to my racing resume.

After I grabbed a cup of water I joined Jacqueline for a mile on her way to 75 for the event and third place overall in the Female Lone Ranger Category.  I then hooked up with Douglas Long – US ARMY – from Fort Hood for his 105th mile on the way to 110 in total and a first place finish in the event.

It was a great weekend of racing at a great venue in ATX, bringing all kinds of athletes and their families together making a difference for a great organization that helps individuals experiencing homelessness find hope, strength, self confidence and self-sufficiency through running.

Next year the event is sure to attract 2-3 times as many participants and it may very well take well more than 110 miles to win the men’s category and more than 81 to win the women’s race.  I have an amazing amount of respect for the athletes who participated this year and I am honored and humbled to have had the chance to race in their footsteps and even share a few miles with them on the course.

Austin, mark down May 10th and 11th on your calendars next year – only 363 more days left of training.

Race Report – Schlotzky’s Bun Run

In 1961 the Shirelles recorded “Mamma Said” – I think they had Sunday’s race in mind when they laid down that top ten R&B Song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPS_cjjohLc

The weather forecast was calling for 50% chance of showers, temperatures around 70 degrees and high humidity.  Not ideal conditions at any point in the year.  But the first few weeks of hot weather seems to sap runners strength, speed and stamina more than it does after a few weeks of heat acclimation.  Every runner is different, but for me each spring it takes me about 21 days before I start to feel “normalized”.  I doesn’t make the weather any cooler – but I do tend to get used to it and some adjustments end up being made.  I can hold pace better and longer than I can just a few weeks earlier.

For Bun Run, this was going to be the first “nasty” day where I tried to do anything up tempo.  I knew it was going to be a tough race, but I hoped that I could hang in there and gut out something in the sub 39:00 minute range.  Coming of a race the week before, and another one two weeks before that – I knew I wasn’t “perfect”, but sometimes you surprise yourself I thought as I drifted off to sleep.

Pre-Race:  I slept through the night and hopped out of bed for the usual routine.  Teeth brushing, warm shower to loosen up a bit and some light clothes.  Runderwear, lightweight shorts, small socks and my Brooks Pure Flows that I would be warming up in.  I threw on a singlet that I would wear during warm-up, but I had my bib pinned to my shorts as this would be the first shirtless race of the season.

The drive down was uneventful as I ate my Bagel and drank a Gatorade and water.  Hit the portapotties upon arrival and stretched next to the start/finish area.  Everything was going as planned, but I was comfortable sitting in the dark in just my shorts and singlet.  Sounds like nice weather – and it is – for just about everything but racing.

Warm-up:  I left the start area for a 2-mile warm-up of gradually increasing 1/2 mile splits:  4:05, 3:57, 3:55, 3:47 – 15:49.  Last weekend I did the same warm-up prior to the Red Poppy 5K in 15:39.  I was in my wind pants, a pullover and did not break a sweat running the warm-up over 2 miles where the net elevation change was  feet.

On Sunday prior to Bun Run I was running easy, but already had my singlet sticking to my back and sweat trickling down my brow.  132 feet of elevation change over those two miles.  I stared feeling like it was going to be a tough race.  I went back to the car, changed into my race flats, ditched my singlet, drank a little more Gatorade and made it over to the start area.  Ready to go.

I tucked into the chute with about 20-25 runners in front of me.  Saw David Yin who is part of my new training group and Chris Gunderson from Brooks Running.  A couple more of the usual suspects in Austin and felt like I was lined up right where I needed to be.  After the National Anthem I hopped a few times, legs felt warmed up and ready to roll.  Robert “Evil” Evilsizer from Evil’s Good Time Racing did the honors as he has at 80% of the Austin Races we have ever run.

“Runners to your mark, Horn!”

Miles 1&2:  In my mind I wanted to open up with a 6:05 first mile.  Nothing too crazy, but a first mile where I could hold on to pace if it felt right, or dial back slightly to 6:15 or so if the conditions warranted.  I fell into a group of four with the top two female runners and another tall, lanky runner who I did not know.  We stuck in a pack up through the mile one mark and opened with a 6:04:80.  Perfect.

Immediately as we started mile 2 it seemed like the group was slowing.  Effort felt equal, but we were all now falling :10 a mile off of pace.

We hit mile two in 6:17.  My 10K PR of 37:30 at the IBM Uptown Classic equates to 6:01 pace for the entire 10 Kilometer course.  This had all of the early indications of an ugly race.

Miles 3&4:  Mile 3 features a fairly gnarly climb of 71 feet.  Think 7 story office building and you have it about right.  The first female started to open up some room on the rest of us, but I was hanging with my other runner friends, trading positions back and forth but nobody being able to break free.  Mile 3 came in at 6:47 and as we made our way down the hill to start mile 4 I took some time to recover from the climb.  I let the male runner get ahead of me by 10 meters or so, the 2nd overall female was falling behind me just a bit, but still in contact.  Mile 4 came in at 6:29 and I felt like that was as good as it was likely to get the rest of the race, still staring the long grinding hill over the final mile up Cesar Chavez to the South First Street Bridge.

Miles 5&6:  Mile 5 was just a couple of ticks faster at 6:27, we hit the last water stop, dumped the cup of water over head, took another one for a few sips and dropped it in the waste can as we strode by.  I started to reel in the male runner that had been out ahead of us for the last two miles.  I wanted to get back in contact with him, pull even before the bridge and try to outkick him to the finish.  We were running in 14th position overall, I set my sights on 13th and dug in.

I was trying to stay positive, focusing on the fact that nobody had caught me and that I was gaining on the runner in front of me – but to be honest – this part of the race was pretty rough.  I kept my eyes downward, dug into the hill and essentially retraced the 2nd mile of my warm-up.  Just before the bridge I caught the runner in front of me, slid past on the turn and turned as tight as I could.   I hit the bridge and once I made it to the middle of the bridge we hit mile 6 in 6:28.

6:29, 6:27, 6:28 were the final 3 miles.  The good news is we didn’t fall off late.  The bad news is we were :15 seconds/mile slow.

Finish:  As many downtown races finish, Turkey Trot, SI Labs Relay we made the turn off of the bridge, got a shoutout from Coach Carmen and kicked to the finish.

39:59.

13th place overall.

2nd place in age group.

Aftermath:  It had been awhile since I had a race where I was truly disappointed  in my finish.  Perhaps that is something to celebrate in and of itself.  But I have to admit that the last week has been a mixed bag – coming from an overall first place finish at the Red Poppy 5K I had a lot of confidence heading into Bun Run.

But come race day, the result from a time perspective just wasn’t anywhere near what we were hoping for.  I’ve spent the last couple of days trying to put it all in perspective – obviously a top 15 finish in a 909 person event is pretty solid.  The course did measure 1/10 long this year as the Start/Finish Line was pushed back a bit further than usual on Auditorium Shores, and of course the weather was pretty brutal.

This week kicks off Big Cottonwood Marathon Training and frankly I have a bad taste in my mouth coming off of Bun Run.

That might be the best thing for me right now as I am a determined runner who is looking to improve and race better the next time.  Of course, the next time is 18 weeks away when the temperature is back in the 40′s and we stand 26.2 miles away from a return to the Boston Marathon in 2014.

I’m not entirely sure how things are going to go out in Salt Lake City, UT – but I can promise this much – we are going to be as prepared as possible for that morning and are going to run our heart out.  Usually after a flat race I bounce back with a good one.  let’s hope that is the case this time.

First workout with Coach Carmen tomorrow morning after 8 miles on Monday and Tuesday to start the week.

Here we go.

31st Schlotzky’s Bun Run Sunday

Sunday marks the 31st running of the Schlotzky’s Bun Run here in the 512.

An Austin institution that added a 10K race just last year to the traditional spring 5K.

As I was putting together my spring plans coming back from the Achilles strain that had us on the shelf for 5 weeks over the winter, I knew that one of the fastest ways for me to get my speed back would be to do a little bit more racing than we normally do this time of year.  Sunday will be our 5th race in the last 56 days, which even for us who tends to race fairly frequently is an aggressive pace.

3 5K races at the Texas Independence Day, Thin Mint Sprint, Red Poppy 5K and two 10K races at the Cooper River Bridge Run and Schlotzky’s.

No PR’s during this stretch of races, and really none were expected.  The courses, our fitness level coming back from injury and our goals for each event did not lend themselves to those types of performances.

What I have seen however is what I have hoped to see, which is steady improvement, not a single peep from our Achilles and a return of my racing mindset.

Closing 400 at Thin Mint Sprint

After Sunday we will have only one more race on our calendar before we stand at the starting line at the Big Cottonwood Marathon on September 14, as we will be once again heading up to Holland, TX for the Cornfest 5K for the 5th year in a row.  Still Age Group undefeated in Holland, I’d like to keep that streak intact for at least one more year.

But after that race it will be nothing but training for Cottonwood the remainder of June, July and August.  It is going to be a hot summer here in Austin, filled with new workouts with our coach and training group and fitness gains that will put us on the starting line in September the most prepared and dialed in marathoner we have ever been.

On Sunday at Bun Run we are going to let it all hang out.  My race plan is not going to put us in a position to approach our PR of 37:30.  That will have to wait for the Fall and the IBM Uptown Classic.  But I hope to run a solid 1 min faster than we did at the Cooper River Bridge Run three weeks ago.  A solid :10 second per mile improvement should be a good target given the course differences and improvement to my fitness level since Charleston.

So there will be no overall wins this weekend, no PR’s, no age group accolades likely.  Just another stop on the way to Cottonwood and hopefully a time of 38:19 or better.

Sunday morning for the 5th time since Texas Independence Day – Boom goes the dynamite.

Race Report – Red Poppy 5K

On October 3, 2010 after I let a race win slip through my fingertips at the Harvest Fest 5K I wrote: “One of the things I love about racing is how I feel like I learn something each and every time out. What I learned today is that if I am ever fortunate enough to find myself out front again, I will need to tap into that intensity necessary to keep pushing pace and chase after the win. Mental toughness is a big part of distance running, I feel like I came up a bit short in that department at Harvest Fest.”

I have thought about that race a lot over the years, wondering if I would ever have another opportunity to run out front and challenge for an overall win.  Locally at small races I usually find myself battling it out somewhere in the top 10 overall, racing for 1st place in my age group or 1st place Masters (over 40) on a good day.  But there are usually younger runners who are well out in front of us setting the pace.

On that October day I led the race from the opening horn until the 2.5 mile mark only to have Scott McIntyre – now a runner friend of mine – pass me with 1/2 mile to go and drop me like a bad habit.  Scotty was a better runner than me then, and frankly he is a better runner than me now.  I’ve had my moments, like at the IBM Uptown Classic in 2011, my 10K PR race where I was able to beat Scott head to head.  But those moments are few and far between.

But back in October 2010, I let a runner hang off of my back shoulder and apply pressure to me – mental pressure – that got into my head and caused me to run tense, let self doubt creep in and I faltered.  I told myself that if I was ever there again it would be different.  I would run smarter, tougher, not give an inch.  But deep down I always wondered if I would be able to respond if every placed in that same position.

Leaving the house on Sunday little did I know that I was about to find out.

Pre Race:  It would be the first time racing back in Georgetown since 2010.   Oddly in the same park along the San Gabriel River that hosted the scene of our defeat at the hands of Scott.  A different course, going a different direction, with only about 3/10 of a mile of overlap – but it was not lost on me where we were headed.

Pretty regular 5K pre-race morning.  A quick shower to loosen the muscles, teeth brushed and dressed in our race gear I grabbed our breakfast (Bagel) on the go and our cooler with Gatorade and a water to hydrate a bit on the 30 minute ride to the race.  I hit the scale before leaving the house and weighed in at 134.5. The weight we like to race the 5K and 10K at spot on.  136.5 for the half marathon, 138 for the full.  Always a good sign for us when we are where we need to be in that department.

Warm-Up:  After finding the finish area I dropped my dry bag and decided to run a 2-mile warm-up at just a little bit brisker pace than normal.  It was in the high 40′s and I wanted to get a sweat going before dropping my sweatshirt, wind pants and gloves to race in just a singlet and shorts with the sun rising over the river in Georgetown.  I ran from the finish line of the course one mile out, which also previewed the race course from about 3/10 of a mile into the race up to the 1.3 mile mark.

My stride felt solid, not perfect, but solid and I was enjoying still winds with the sun coming up.  I knew a little bit about the course, and was looking to my left for the low water crossing that would place us back up onto the trail we were on currently.  Where that intersection was would mark the final turn of the race and it would be game on to the finish.

When I saw the water crossing my heart sank a bit.  There was a steep 3-way switch back ramp that we would have to navigate 2.2 miles into the race.  It was going to be a pace-killer and a rhythm breaker for sure.  It would affect everyone the same, but seemed like it would be about a :10 second “penalty” for the runners.

I spun around, ran back to the finish line and clocked our warm-up 2-miles in 15:37.  Nice and steady.

I switched out of my Brooks Launch, took of my wind pants and put on my Brooks T7 Racers.  Tucked my sweatshirt into my dry bag, grabbed my sunglasses and made my way up to the start area at 4th and Scenic Drive.  I was late arriving to the start area, said a few quick hello’s to my Friend Mick and a couple of runners I know – lastly Bill Schroeder came over to me and asked if I “Knew where the route went” as if I would be leading the way I thought …. for the first moment the thought crossed my mind that I might actually be running in the top 2 or 3 runners.

Just like that we took a moment of silence for those effected by the Boston Marathon tragedy and the Blast out in West, Texas outside of Dallas and then it was, “Runners to your mark – Horn!”

Mile 1:  The race started with a pretty significant downhill section that rolled to the left and then back around to the right.  I had jogged up the hill on the way to the starting line and looked at the footing, the turns and where there might be loose stones.  There would be a few things to navigate – but mostly it was going to be fast.  My thought was I would try for an opening 1/2 mile split of 2:46 running at 90% of our usual opening 1/2 mile effort.  The downhill would let us save a little bit and fall in smoothly.

As the horn sounded we jumped out early and there was nobody ahead of us.  Just a few sets of feet behind us, one pair directly behind us – but the course was wide open ahead.  We thundered down the hill, around the turn and past what would be the finish line area in about 17 minutes or so.  There was a smattering of cheers and the course flattened out.  At the first 1/2 mile mark my watch beeped at me – 2:44.  Perfect.

This is the part of the race where I thought the runner behind us might make a move, I decided to lock into our 3:00 min/pace per 1/2 mile and see where it took us.  The runner stayed right on my heels and by the sound of things it appeared that it was a two-man race.  Nobody had come with us.

At the one mile mark my watch beeped at me with a 3:05.  5:49 for the opening mile.  Two to go.

Mile 2:  Run even I thought, just run even and don’t look back.  As badly as I wanted to see what kind of lead I had, I did not want to give the High School Runner any feeling of confidence.  That I was “worried” about him back there.  He was in the ideal position.  I of course was not.  It takes a lot more energy to set the pace and run out front than just hang off of the shoulder of the runner in front of you and then surge past at the end of the race.  I knew that of course, but what made matters worse was the fact that I knew that he was well aware of that as well.

Water Stop – Pointing for cup

He was the hunter, I was the hunted – just like October of 2010.  The races were unfolding eerily similar.

3:05, 305 were the splits – 6:10 pace for mile two.  Time to make a move.

Time to go

Mile 3:  We ran right through the finish line of the Harvest Fest Race and again I was reminded of how things went for me the last time I was in this position more than 2 years ago.  I noticed coming through the water stop that I had opened up a lead of :05 seconds or so.  As we made the left turn toward the switch back I surged.

Surging on the turn would give me an advantage as I thought that he would not notice my move as easily as he would on a straightaway.  By the time he knew what was going on, I would have the drop on him.  I sped up the switchback ramp and could look back at the runner without having to glance over my shoulder.  I bounded to the top and surged again.

Our pace over this 1/2 mile dropped to 3:17, but a solid :10 of that was coming from the switchback hill.

For the first time in the race I thought about winning.  I tried to push the thought off and just run smooth, but it was hard to do.  As we crested the final hill I could no longer hear any footsteps back there and I stole a quick glance.  He wasn’t there.

The final 1/2 mile came in at 2:58 pace.  Our second fastest 1/2 mile of the race.

As we approached the finish line to a smattering of cheer and “way to go!’s” - we slapped down an imaginary tape as Prefontaine would do at the end of his wins and it was over.

18:28, 1st place overall by :20 seconds.

Post Race:  These days are obviously not going to come around very often, maybe never again.  But it was comforting and very rewarding to know that given a second chance, we didn’t make the same mistakes twice.

Now we can move on to all the new mistakes we are bound to make in the next one

Race Report – Cooper River Bridge Run

Saturday marked the 36th running of the Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston, SC.

Technically, I suppose the race “takes place” in Mt. Pleasant, SC as I spent just about 2 hours there waiting for the race to start, and a much shorter period of time racing through the streets of the Holy City.  But we are already getting way too far ahead of ourselves.  But on my final day racing as an “independent” or a self-coached runner, the racing Gods laid down an absolutely picture perfect day for a footrace.

Sunny skies, light winds, although high atop the Cooper River Bridge the breeze was slightly in the face of the runners and slightly from the right side of the course, 48 degree temperatures and 85% humidity.  The humidity was a little bit dicey, but that is what you get racing on the coast in April.

The CRBR is the 3rd largest 10 Kilometer race in the United States and the 7th largest in the world.

It’s big.

It is almost like running the Boston or NYC Marathons where you have an early rise to deal with, busses to line up for, a trip out to the starting area, a long wait to corral up, limited room for a proper warm-up and of course, a crowded course to navigate from start to finish.

The Pros:  For an amateur runner like most of us – you get the full rock star treatment.

The Cons:  For an amateur runner like most of us – there are a lot of variables to deal with which makes running a “great” race a lot tougher.

You have to sacrifice a little time on the clock for the “experience” of running a huge mega-race like the CRBR.  One or two of these events a year really can make road racing a lot of fun.  But if you are looking to run a PR or a smokin’ fast time.  This is not the type of event to do it in.

The other thing about the Cooper River Bridge Run is that it is not for the meek if you are going to really try to race it.  There is a famous saying that if a hill has it’s own name, it’s probably a pretty big hill.

Well if a race is named after a bridge.  Chances are the bridge is a pretty big one.  The Arthur Ravenel Bridge or “The Cooper” as it is referred to locally is a big bridge.  The climb from start to finish lasts just a tick over a full mile and rises 187 feet.  Yes it is steep, but man, it is long.  It is the long that gets to you in my view.

Cooper River Bridge

The incline is 4%, which is pretty nasty to do battle with at race pace.  But when it takes you a solid 7:00 minutes lets say to get over it, running at 6:00 flat effort it can really take it’s toll on you.  You then have the other side to run down, which further taxes your straining quads – and just when your breathing returns to normal and you start to feel a little better about things, you exit the bridge, make the hard 90 degree left turn onto Meeting street for two more miles of flat running.  The road may be flat, but it feels anything but when you come off of the downstroke of the bridge.  It feels just like yet another hill to climb.

Needless to say that our 37:30 10K PR was more than safe on Saturday morning.  I figured that if I added a full minute for the climb, and then :10 seconds a mile to the remaining miles (5) – we would have a 1:50 disadvantage.  That gave me a goal of 39:20 – if I could nail that time, I would call this a big win and declare myself “over” my injury from the winter.

My other goals were all pretty arbitrary in nature, but being my last race B.C. (Before Coach Carmen Troncoso) – I wanted to make it a little fun:

1.     Break 39:20

2.     Break the top 200 Male Finishers.

3.     Age Group (finish in the top 5% of my age group up to 25).

4.     Be the fastest Texan.

I had a feeling that If goal number one was met, the others had a darn good chance of falling into place.

Pre-Race:     I set the alarm clock for 4:15 a.m. for the 8:00 a.m. gun.  Man, that is early.  I got to the bathroom, took care of all the usual tooth brushing and face washing business and decided on a very quick shower to get the muscles loose under some hot water.  I decided that by race time shorts and a singlet would be all we would need, and to avoid any post-race complications I would not check a dry bag.

I purchased some sweat pants and a hideous Orange Clemson Sweatshirt at TJ Maxx on Friday to wear to the start that I would discard just prior to the gun and allow the local charity to receive my fresh clothes for those less fortunate.  As a South Carolina Graduate it pretty much killed me to be rocking the Clemson Orange, but staying warm was far more important to me and the sweats did the job.

I carried a couple of bagels, a Gatorade and a water with me and would be racing to Charleston with my gloves tucked in the waistband of my shorts.  All of this worked out perfectly.

I parked on the west side of the course about 3 blocks from the busses and took a nice leisurely trot up to the staging area downtown.  I met a 60 year-old runner named Fred from Hilton Head and we rode to the start together chatting away about running, racing and goals for the day.  A 2:40 Marathoner “back in the day” – Fred was still a top age-grouper in the area and I was sure he was going to run a great race on Saturday.  We talked a lot about marathoning and working with a coach.  He like so many before him said to me, “Joe, you are a sub 3 hour marathoner with your ability to run a sub 1:24 half on multiple occasions, you just need it to all come together for you on race day ….”

One of these days I am going to prove all of these folks right.  Hopefully October 13, 2013 at Steamtown.

We hopped off the bus and made the long walk to the corrals.  I found a nice quiet picnic table at a small park to sit on and stretch, chatted with a  few runners, had breakfast and as the sun rose over Mt. Pleasant, I took a short 1-mile warm-up run 30 minutes before go time.

I hit the porta-potty, stretched some more and with 15 minutes to go and people were starting to fill the corrals I went for another 1/2 mile warm-up with some strides mixed in to mimic ramping up to race pace.  I ducked into the Seeded Corral with 800 or so of my new friends, just behind the professionals from Kenya, Russia, S. Africa, Egypt and a handful of top Americans and peeled off my sweats.  My legs felt great, I was very relaxed.  Maybe a little bit too relaxed and I cozied up behind a group of runners that looked just about “right” for my target pace.

The Start:     The announcer counted us down to the start, staged us just behind the mat and with a “Runners, to your marks!  Horn!” we were off.  We ran under the large start scaffolding and screamed down Coleman Boulevard toward the bridge.  I ran the first 400 and settled in nicely, I felt as if I was running just a hair under 6:00 min./mile pace and glanced down at my watch.

Time of day.

I hit the start button as I crossed the mat, but for some reason it was not recording the run.  Garmin error.  Happens to the best of us.  I pressed the satellite portion of the dial and my watch began the process of triangulating my position.  I was running blind.

Something that would have bothered me a couple of years ago, I really never batted an eye.  I decided I would wait until the first mile sign, press start there and get an accurate picture of the final 5 miles of the race.  No big deal, just spin up and run easy.  As we approached the first mile sign I was curious to see how our pacing was.  I hit the line in 5:53, meaning that I ran an opening split right at 5:51 pace given the :02 it took us to cross the mat +/-.  Maybe :04 seconds faster than I had been hoping for, but nothing that was going to harm our race.  Dialed in Joe.  Go get that bridge.

I backed off the pace just a bit to load up for the climb ahead and ticked off the second mile in 6:05 – solid.  we made the slight switch from the right side of the street across three lanes to the left, ran a tangent onto the exit ramp to Mount Pleasant (running against the normal direction of driving traffic) and started to pick our way up the hill.  I decided to stay even, no extra effort, but no backing off either.  Let the 4% incline slow our pace, but keep the intensity identical.  In my view the most economical way to tackle a hill.

I glanced once at my watch and it was tracking us at 7:11 pace up the incline, we were giving away a little bit north of 1 minute per mile pace to the bridge, which had us just about spot on our goal pace.  But the incline seemed to be stretching forever.  I found a runner to run next two and we stayed lockstep in pace to the top.  we finally reached the large crown of the bridge, which lasts a good 200 meters longer than you think it would to reach the absolute apex.  We reached the 3-mile flag and I made a conscious effort not to back off.  Just stay even and lock back in – you are running perfect I thought to myself.

Half-Way Point:     As I passed the 3.1 mile clock the time read 19:53.  I needed to run the second half of the race in just a hair under 19:30 and we were home, goal time met by the slimmest of margins.  My mind flashed back to the last time I had not broken 19:30 in a stand alone 5K and I could not draw it from my recesses.  Finally I had to go back all the way to my first Holland, TX Cornfest 5K in 2009.  On a 85 degree hot June morning I ran a 19:43 to take 1st place in my Age Group.  All I needed was a 19:30 from here on out.  It wasn’t going to be a cake-walk by any means, but it was absolutely something we were capable of.  Just keep pushing.

Downtown:     we came off of the bridge and made the left turn onto Meeting Street with drums sounding from one of the local High Schools, I decided to grab a quick splash of water to wet my lips and I powered up Meeting Street toward the College of Charleston.  My legs were starting to feel very heavy and I knew the bridge had done what it is designed to do.  Sap your strength.  I focused on form, stopped looking at the road in front of my feet as I had done climbing up the bridge so I wouldn’t be intimidated by how much bridge was left and I fixed my eyes directly on the horizon.  Head perfect and still, breathing in rhythm, form smooth, light on my feet and I could barely hear my flats hitting the road.  I was still running strong.  Just needed to hang on to that last mile.

I can do anything for a mile.

We hit the mile 5 sign and I did some quick math in my head.  I was running at 6:18 pace and had not wavered over the last mile+.  One more identical mile, hit the left turn on to Wentworth street with 2/10 to go and surge.  Hit the left turn back on to Meeting Street and Kick.  Race = Over.

I was running alongside a taller, younger runner stride for stride as we took King Street across Calhoun.  I looked over at him and said a single word that I knew he would relate to.  I simply said, “Hurting”.

He replied with a, “Got This”. and on we went stride for stride.

There is something about race crowds when they see two runners battling it out at the end of a race.  No matter how far back they are, the spectators can identify with the very primitive battle of wills taking place.  Tall runner vs. short runner, young runner vs. old(er) runner.  Who is going to give in first.

As we passed the thickening crowd we were getting shouts from the sidewalk, it fueled us both on and just before the left turn to Wentworth Street I got ready to tangent on the inside and decided to surge just a few strides early.  I moved away from the runner on my right and in a moment that makes racing so interesting, he had no response.  He was flat out at that point and I had been holding just a little bit back.

It is something that you never know about the runner next to you, ahead of you or immediately behind you.  Who has something left?  Will it be me today or will it be them?  If you ask me the one thing I love most about racing – that is honestly it.  In the most basic terms, who is willing to hurt more?  On Saturday it was me.

I dropped him on Wentworth, slid past another runner at the turn onto King Street and with 1/10 of a mile left we dipped down to 5:40 pace, a place we had not been for almost 6 miles, but it was nice to see that it was still there.  A final kick to the finish and the announcer said to the crowd, “We’ve got some strong closing kicks here to the finish, and all the way from Austin, Texas …. Joe Marruchella”.

Finish:     After running a 19:51 first 5 kilometers, we needed a 19:29 to make our time.  We ran a 19:27.

Goal time of 39:20.  Race time of 39:18.

Goal of finishing in the top 200 Male Runners – Number 179.

Goal of Age Grouping – Met placing 8th among Men 45-49 years old.

Goal of being the fastest Texan - Met by more than :30 seconds.

I would call that a clean sweep of the list we put together prior to the race.  To be completely honest I am most proud of being able to run a smart, strategic and well put together race.  It may have been one of the 3 or 4 best executed races I have ever run.  Not the fastest of course, but we knew that was going to be the case before we ever boarded our flight from Austin to Charleston.  But for our final race as a self-coached runner, I am really happy to go out this way.  I don’t have a lot of “what if’s” or “I hoped this or that” - I can put this one in the book, place it on the shelf and start a brand new chapter when I get back to Austin.

To coach Carmen, I am fired up, healthy and ready to go.  I know that you work with a lot more talented runners than I and that you certainly work with runners who are much faster than I will ever be.  But I am ready to work hard, do anything and everything you say and on race day I am willing to put it all on the line for the both of us.

We’re certainly going to have our wins and losses, our ups and downs, that is just the nature of the sport.  But put me in a position with a mile to go on October 13th to make it happen and I promise I will not let you down.  Let’s get this party started.

Time for a little help from our friends

It is often and rather famously said, that doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. The proverb applies more to life in general than it does to the sport of distance running, but as running in many ways is a perfect metaphor for life, the principle applies.

Since 2011 I have set more goals than the typical 45 year old guy walking around on the planet. I’m a keenly aware of that fact. Amazingly I have been able to plan the work, work the plan and reach or exceed every one of those goals on my list when it comes to distance running with the exception of one.

I am not the most talented runner, this is a fact not opinion. I have to work extremely hard at the sport and earn every second that I take off of the race clock. For others it comes much easier. That is not to say that I am complaining. I think most coaches would rather work with an athlete that works hard, is dedicated and is willing to put in the hours and suffer the pain to get as close as possible to their potential.

While other runners may have more natural ability, they are not willing to pay the price in reaching their full potential – or ever really approaching it. Good enough is simply good enough, and that is as far as they are willing to push themselves.  I’m not about to start preaching about the virtues of trying hard and failing vs. using your natural talents to succeed. Trust me, it is all about the succeeding piece for me. It is about race day, goal setting and goal achievement. I don’t publish my weekly training mileage and carry it around like some badge of honor. It’s simply the means to an end.

I train to run races. Period. End-game.

As I write this I am sitting on a United Airlines flight – seat 12B to be exact – on my way to South Carolina for the 2013 Cooper River Bridge Run. Myself and 39,999 entrants will be toeing the line Saturday morning and testing our metal at an incredibly difficult 10 Kilometer Race that spans an enormous bridge, usually combats strong headwinds and will push each of our limits.
It is our first large race of 2013 after a brief set-back to start the year due to injury, but as of right now we are just about 95% all the way back to our peak fitness in December. It simply is a matter of continuing to get our miles in, rebuild our stamina and endurance to the previous standard. The body is fine, the mind and spirit are there, we’re just tuning up the engine a little bit more. It’s a process, but one that is nearing completion.

But this race is the end of an era for me as it will be my final race as a self-coached runner.

On Wednesday I had lunch with a tremendous coach in Austin who has worked with many of the runners I compete against at local events for several years. She is in her own right a tremendously talented runner, now nearing age 50, and has forgotten more about running, training and racing than I will probably ever know.

I have come to the conclusion that I have at best three more race seasons to run my best ever marathon. Whether that means 2:59, 2:55, 3:02 I really have no idea. That is what we are about to find out.

But I simply cannot keep doing the same things over and over again and expect a different result.

Instead I am willing to admit that I need a little help to get over that final goal that I have been carrying around with me since the Austin Marathon in 2011. I want to run a marathon in less than 180 minutes. In fact, I would trade every Age Group Award, finisher’s medal, PR, ribbon and trophy I have ever been fortunate enough to acquire to find myself with one more mile to go at the Steamtown Marathon on October 13th and 6 minutes, 52 seconds to get there.

I am willing to scratch, claw, fight, hurt and bleed to do it.

But pushing hard on race day has never been our problem. There is plenty of fight left in this old dog.  It is in the approach to getting to that position through training where I have not been able to dial things in perfectly at the marathon distance. A race where the smallest of errors are magnified significantly, where heart, guts and hard-work can only take a runner so far.

I need an edge. A new weapon in my arsenal. Someone who is going to simply tell me what to do and when to do it. Someone that will watch me run two times a week – providing a set of eyes that can step outside of my own head and tell me if I am pushing hard enough, need to back off, need to change up our training strategy – and finally, someone who one week before Steamtown is going to give me an honest number to shoot for on race day that is not one that I have arbitrarily self-selected to define me.

Whatever that number is, is the number we are going to go get. If it is 3:03 or 2:59 or 2:56 – I am willing to go out on race day and make it happen. But it is going to be based on more than my own definition of “excellence” – it is going to be based on her years of experience coaching athletes, predicting race-day potential and pushing athletes to the edge of the cliff and then pulling them back just in time before they risk injury or a flat performance.

The final piece of the puzzle is I am going to have training partners for the first time ever. There are reasons why the top distance runners train in groups – providing someone to push you in workouts, someone to help you suffer through grueling sets of repeats and intervals. My good runner friends Andy and Scott are both part of this training group. There have been race days that I have run with them, others when they have run away from me and the rare performance where I’ve been able to hang on and beat them.

Well now perhaps we can work together and push each other to new personal bests and times that to this point have seemed untouchable. What do they know that I do not? What can I learn from them? Is there really more inside of me that I just have not realized or tapped into? All great questions.

I used to feel as if accomplishing my goal time in the marathon by myself and not with the help of others was going to somehow legitimize it more. I’m not sure where that notion formed in my mind, or why it did, but it has definitely been a part of my runner psyche for some time.

The reality is that without the help of my swim coach there is absolutely zero chance of me completing last Fall’s Half Ironman. ZERO chance. Trust me, I was there when I tried to swim my first 25 meters, you were not. When I say zero, I might actually be overestimating my chances.

Without my friend Ed’s advice and the help of the guys at Austin Tri Cyclist to fit me for my bike, put me in the right gear and help with nutrition, there is no way I ride a 2:38 bike split over 56 miles and podium in Kerrville.

The run part? O.K., that was all me last year. But it is time for that to change.

So this weekend when we toe the line in Charleston I am going to take a moment to run my fingers over Dom’s initials on my shoes like I always do and think about all of the races we’ve run together since he got sick back in the spring of 2009. I guess I really never was truly alone out there in the end.

We just recruited another member to the team this week Dom. So what if we need a little bit of help to get to that point at Steamtown this Fall. That is still going to be the greatest mile I will have ever run, win, lose or draw.
26 weeks to race day. 6 months to make it all come together. Time to go to work.

Bibbed Up and Ready to Go

Dear Joseph Marruchella,

We are looking forward to another great Cooper River Bridge Run! Your bib number is 646. Please be sure to print this email and bring it with you to the expo.

This will save you a lot of time and effort if you have this with you when you come to the expo.

If you have any questions please go to http://www.bridgerun.com.

Sincerely,

Cooper River Bridge Staff

Looks like we are just about ready to fly out East next week and see how close we are to being completely dialed-in and ready to race hard at the Cooper River Bridge Run.  This will be my second time running the event – and oddly enough, the second time running it coming off of injury.

The truly ironic part is that these are the only two injuries I have had since 2006.  Timing is everything they say in life and footraces.

The last couple of weeks I have seen some good signs when it comes to our running.  Last weekend’s 18:23 and top 3 finish at a small local race notwithstanding – I was happy to be able to bounce back and run a solid 12-miler less than 24 hours later.

This week we went back-to-back-to-back with runs of 9, 6 and 9 miles with a few quality sub 7:00 minute efforts sprinkled here and there.

I’m noticing the tone coming back in my quadriceps and the strength in my core.  We have also made it back to our most effective race weight of 136.5 lbs.  In a longer event like the marathon I like to race a little heavier at 138-138.5 lbs.  I have been down as low as 134.5 for summer 5K’s – but that has made me feel just a little bit lacking in the power department on climbs.  But 136.5 is where we have put together some of our top efforts.

Shamrock half-marathon, IBM uptown Classic, Shiner Half-Marathon, Lights of Love, Turkey Trot all PR races and all at our target race weight.

The race itself in Charleston is not one where people go to set a PR.  The course in a word is brutal.

Ravenel Bridge on Race Day

Two miles flat, two miles across the Ravenel Bridge, then another 2 miles to close things out after some max effort climbing and a steep descent.

In addition to the course, there is a good chance that wind is going to be a factor being so high up above the Cooper River.  Lastly, being a 40,000 person point to point race - you have to deal with all of the same challenges that a large marathon would pose.  An early wake-up.  Commute to the finish area.  Park, walk to the school busses that will transport runners from downtown Charleston to Mt. Pleasant.

Aerial Shot of the start

Once there, a long walk to the starting corrals, where runners will try to stay warmed-up, stretched, loose and ready to come blazing out onto the course.  Thankfully the 10K gives you a little bit more time to “settle in” than a 5K footrace affords.  But the truth is, you need to be locked into very near goal pace over the first mile in Charleston, as you have to take advantage of the flat miles before you reach the foot of the bridge.  The climb is something – well over a mile in length, with no pauses or breaks to reload.

The descent drops runners from the same height obviously, but at a much steeper grade – so as much as you would like to come flying down the other side, you have to be a bit more measured and careful as you will still have a full 2 miles to race once you come off of the bridge.  Like I said.  Brutal.

So success on Saturday is not going to be chasing our 10K PR of 37:30.  That is a fool’s errand.  Even on my fittest of fit days, there is no chance of running that time on that course.  Instead, we are looking for a top 25 AG Finish.  5% of Age Group Finishers are eligible for awards up to 25.  At the end of the day, I hope to be in the money.  Something around 39:30 should put us in the top 10-15 among male 45-49 year old finishers.

Sub 40 minutes would be a completely acceptable fall-back position if the wind, course or temperature throw us a bit of a curve on race morning.

Those conditions however will affect everyone equally – so again, age grouping is the goal going into Saturday.  This weekend we will run 8 miles on Saturday and somewhere around 12 or 13 on Sunday – then two short runs on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week before flying out to Charleston on Thursday, complete rest on Friday and we should be as ready as we are going to be come Saturday morning.

Another good test in front of us, then another back to back weeks of racing April 21 and 28 will place us in a pretty good position heading into May.

Training for Steamtown will begin in earnest on June 9th.  By then our long runs will be back in the 15-16 mile range on Sundays and we should be back to where our fitness level and training volume was prior to starting our Houston Marathon Cycle was last fall.  A lot of work remains just to get back to where we once were – but that is the nature of the sport.  You are either getting better or getting worse, nobody ever stays the same.

Here’s to another step in the right direction next weekend.  Bring it on Charleston.

Steamtown

Everyone has been there.  Runners and non-runners, the feeling doesn’t discriminate.

Missed opportunities.  Narrow defeats.  Having something that you desperately want and have worked hard for, but for whatever reason it slips through your fingers.

Of course you then sit back and analyze things.  Over analyze them actually, trying to pinpoint the one moment where if you had just done something a little bit differently the outcome would have been everything that you hoped for.

It can drive you crazy.  It is also a colossal waste of time and energy.  Yet we all fall prey to it from time to time.

Ever since I sent in my deferment notice to the Houston Marathon back in December when I knew that my Achilles tendon strain was serious enough to keep us from racing I have been in that place.  Oddly enough, my thoughts have not focused on Houston.  They instead have gone back to the two marathons before.

New York and Boston.

In New York through 22 miles I executed a perfect marathon.  I just did not have the talent, ability, desire and training to overcome the final bridges and hills to hold pace and my dreams of a sub 3 hour marathon slipped through my fingers.  At the time of course I was thrilled with my PR, happy that I was able to go toe to toe with a difficult marathon course on a huge stage and bring my “A” game.  Execute my race plan and gain valuable race experience.  I would get it the next time.  Surely Boston would be different.

At Boston last spring, just a little more than a year ago, my race like everyone else’s was over before it really started.  88 degree temperatures, the second hottest Boston Marathon in 116 years of the event made racing that day a fool’s errand.  For someone hoping to run to the closest margin of their potential – it just wasn’t the day for glory.  Never mind I thought.  We’ll reload and be ready for Houston.  We all know how that turned out.

So here we are now going on 16 months since New York City and I haven’t been able to toe the line of a marathon with that same confidence.  That same drive and determination to excel and the same opportunity to hold fate in my own hands and go toe to toe with one of the most difficult foot races on the planet.

As much as I wanted to take the rest of 2013 off from the marathon, as much as I told myself that it was time for a much-needed break from the event, I have been uncomfortable with that decision.  Can I really afford to take 12 months off at this point before I take another crack at that 2:59 knowing that I am every bit of 45 years, 7 months and 23 days old?  I may be in great shape for an “old guy”, but as 3 hour marathoners go, I’m pretty darn close to dinosaur status.

After Saturday’s showing at the Thin Mint Sprint, where I ran within :20 or so of my PR at that distance I strapped on my running shoes on Sunday morning and ticked off a dozen miles on tired legs at just a hair over 7:00 minute miles.  I did so over the hill course with 25 mile an hour winds blowing through Austin.  It was the first time that I felt like I was really close to being back to where I was before that misstep down in Shiner, TX and our injury.

I also knew that it was time to find a Fall Marathon that would give us the best chance at running, “our time“.

After balancing our personal life and work life calendars – there were very few weekends that lined up well for a Fall Marathon.  Knowing full well that for me to have a legitimate shot at going sub 3 I need to have a few factors going in my favor.

Possibility/likelihood of cool weather.

A small Race, nothing more than 5,000 runners to navigate.

A neutral to “fast” course.

My window for racing would be October, and specifically the middle two weeks of the month staying away from a conference Dawn will be attending out in Florida the first week of October and being home for all of the Halloween festivities with Landry.

All of those variables narrowed the list to one race and one opportunity.

Steamtown.

A race capped at 3,000 marathoners on a point to point, net downhill course that will wind up less than 2 hours away from where I took my first steps as a boy in suburban Philadelphia.  Although running downhill is not all that it is cracked up to be, fatiguing those quad muscles in a big way – we’ve been there before.  We had our first Boston Marathon come undone due to a similar downhill start to that race in 2010.  We know how to prepare for the downs.

Yes there are 3 miles of climbing at the end of the race.  But again, if our training is sound and we put in the appropriate level of hill work going in, this is something we know how to be ready for.

All in all, Steamtown offers us a lot of things on our wish list in looking for a Fall Race.  There are some drawbacks as well, like logging all of our 18, 20, 21, 22 and 23 mile long runs in the hottest months of our Texas Summer.  An experience that the last time we did this prepping for New York I uttered the foolish phrase “Never Again”.

The reality of course was that running through that heat and humidity made us the strongest marathoner we had ever been on race day in New York, springboarding us to new PR’s after New York in every distance from the 5K to the half-marathon.  It will certainly pay huge dividends this year as well.

So here we are, ready to tee this thing up one more time and give it all we have to prepare for the most difficult but exceptional 179 minutes of racing we have ever done.  Having running taken away from us for those 5 weeks has left a determined marathoner even more so in its wake.

On Monday morning when registration opens we will be among the first people to log on and cast our lot.  There will be 193 days to go until race day at that point.  Just over 6 months of sword sharpening and we are going to pour every ounce into this training plan to be more than ready to do battle on race day.

The first major race we ever ran was in the state of Pennsylvania, the day we became a Marathoner for the first time.

We returned to Pennsylvania a little over 18 months later and teed it up again.  That day we became a Boston Qualifier.

There is only one more club we want to join when it comes to the marathon.  It is only fitting that Pennsylvania again plays a prominent role.

The visuals are starting to form in my mind already, coming off that final hill with 2/10 of a mile to go straight downhill to the finish.

Quads screaming, feet hurting with every stride, knowing that in just under 90 seconds it will all be over.  I’m not sure how this story is going to end right now – but that is what this has always been about, the journey, not the destination.

Steamtown, October 13, 2013.  Going to be quite a day.  Boom goes the dynamite.

Race Report – Thin Mint Sprint

Race morning.

Always an interesting day to wake up on.  Sometimes the alarm goes off and I hop right out of bed.  Other mornings I have been lying awake for hours, unable to relax, unable to sleep, the thoughts of hills, mile splits and a time clock ticking in my mind.  Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Virginia Beach, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Miami, Tempe, Charleston, Kerrville or Austin – doesn’t really matter – there are things about those mornings that are all the same – and certain things of course that are different.

I’ve found that keeping the same routine whether it is a “big” race or a small one helps to keep me relaxed and focused.  After checking the weather forecast the night before I lay out my race gear, pin my race bib to my shorts and have everything that I need ready to go.  Race flats in my run bag, my warm-up shoes laid out and ready to go.  No surprises.  No last minute scrambling around burning valuable energy needlessly.

Saturday morning for the local Thin Mint Sprint was not what I would consider a pressure race, with about 250 runners expected to race a local 5K benefitting Girl Scout Troup 2063.  But for us returning from injury and this being the first race of the year where we were relatively sound and fit, I was hoping to run a strong race and be able to hold pace from start to finish.  I decided to race this one “blind” – meaning no watch to beep at me and feed me data every half-mile.

Just keep the watch on time of day – (I used it to measure my 2-mile warm-up) – then keep it shut down for the race.

Knowing that missing 5-weeks of training was a hole I am still digging my way out of, I didn’t want an opening 1/2 mile to scare me into slowing down, or force me into a faster pace than my body was ready for just because a device on my wrist told me so.  Runners have been racing by feel for a hundred years.  Sometimes less is more and tapping into a more primitive mindset is what your body needs.

Running “naked” is a freeing experience.  Naked, meaning with no technology.  I do it on training runs all the time to let my mind and body get in synch.  Seemed like a good time to try it on race day.

So with that exception, I treated Saturday’s tune-up race the same as the 5o before it.  Press the issue early, find your rhythm, stay strong in the middle, close hard late.  Every PR I have ever run at any distance has followed that exact plan.  I’m a “hang-on” racer, just the way we’re wired.

Pre-Race:  At the sound of the alarm I hit the snooze button for an extra 10-minutes of sack time.  I flexed my legs, rotated my ankles, started to gently and gradually wake up the machine.  When I hopped out of bed and got in the shower I was feeling rested and solid.  One distraction this week from training was the fact that Super-Wife was in Spain for work.  Landry and I had been one-on-one since last Friday and my training was spotty this week to be kind.  I only could manage two workouts – but they both were very solid.  Although I would have rather had some volume on my legs this week, I did feel good about the fact that they had a lot of snap, crackle and pop on my run days.

I had the usual pre-race bagel, no banana this time and made my way over to the Cedar Park Center.  An easy, no-traffic 15 minute ride to the start.  I arrived on site and although we had picked up our race bib on Friday – and our box of Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies – we still had to pick up our timing chip.  We got parked, grabbed our run bag and water and made our way over to the tents.

53 degrees, a little wind blowing, overcast skies.  Not a perfect day for racing, but not a bad one either.  Call it neutral weather I thought.

I grabbed my chip and decided to walk down to the start area to figure out where the route went and get ready for my warm-up when I heard “JOE!” over my shoulder.  My good buddy Andy Bitner was in line to get his chip.  Great to see Andy and I knew that I had a younger faster runner that would be in front to set pace.  I wasn’t sure who else would be there racing on Saturday – but it was awesome to know Andy would be there to give me someone to chase and to keep me honest.  Andy was going for sub 18:00, I was in 18:30 shape I figured, not quite back to our 18:02 PR level from December, but we were gaining on it.  It was shaping up to be a fun morning.

Warm-Up:  Andy and I dropped gear at his car and went out to the course to run a 2-mile warm-up.  The shorter the race, the longer the warm-up as the story goes.  It is a good idea to get good and warm before blasting out at the start of a 5K, 5-miler, 10K as you have to get that engine running smoothly and efficiently as quickly as possible.  The race simply isn’t long enough to settle in.

At the top of mile 1 we ran into a training buddy of Andy’s Catherine – one of the top female Age Groupers in the area.  I now knew two other runners that would be running in the top 5.  The only question is whether or not we would be there with them.  After a couple of miles right around 8:00 min./mile pace to shake loose we went back to the car, switched shoes and got ready to rumble.  5 minutes to the gun.

Go-Time:  Runners assembled into a very narrow start area and we pressed to the front.  As is often the case at the smaller local races, young children press to the front and can make it a bit dangerous to get out clean where a tangle of feet or a misstep can cause a runner to crash to the ground or turn an ankle.  My goal in races like this is to get up front and get out quickly, run a quick 200 meters to get the blood flowing and get clear of all the danger, then settle into my pace and cruise.  Standard, simple, strategic.

Runners to your mark, set, horn – and we were off.  Just as planned we got out quick, Andy ran next to me and then slightly ahead as we completed the first 400 meters and made the first right turn uphill and into the wind.  The same section we ran during our warm-up, we would run straight to the top of mile 1, make another right – head to a turnaround at the mid-point and then retrace our steps to the finish line.  Nice course – all smooth paved road - perfect footing with only 6 turns.

Racing:  As we settled into the middle of the first mile a runner came by my left side and pulled ahead of Andy pushing us down to 3rd place.  Unsure of our exact pace, it felt like we were clipping along around 5:45 pace.  Meaning Andy and the other runner were running around 5:30.  Too rich for our blood even on our most fit day, so I checked it down and locked it in.  Stay even to the turnaround and then I would have a chance to see who was behind us.

We made the turn at the top of mile 1, Andy had retaken the lead position and started to stretch his lead a bit.  We had a slight downhill section to the turnaround to enjoy, but unfortunately, the wind was blowing directly against the runners.  Instead of picking up :15 it felt like it was a bit more like only :05.

At the turnaround we were firmly in third place with a 200 meter lead on the 4th place runner.  It looked to be Catherine, but they were still navigating the loop in a small park which made spotting her difficult.  I powered back up the hill and marked to the 1-mile to go point.

Here is where I could tell that I was not all the way back from a fitness perspective.  I will typically run the fourth half-mile faster than the third in a 5K, the fifth faster than the fourth and the sixth the fastest of the race with the exception of the opening 1/2 mile.  That first 1/2 mile with all of the adrenaline is always the fastest.  When I started to lengthen my stride out entering the final mile of the race Saturday, it just isn’t quite there yet.

I pushed a bit but the acceleration that I usually enjoy was more like a steady grind.  I was no slower through this mile, but if I was any faster it was only negligible.  The good news is my track position was staying the same.  Nobody was gaining ground on the downhill stretch, but I was not able to cut into the two leaders ahead.

I made the final left turn with 1/4 mile to go and surged a bit.  Finally the legs started to spin up with a closing kick and we hit the mat solidly in 3rd place.

Finish:  18:23.  :20 seconds faster than we were two weeks ago, :11 seconds off of our “old PR” that stood for more than two years up until this past December where we blew that time out of the water with our 18:02.  Basically the fastest we have ever been in our life.  So all in all – it was a great morning, a well executed race and we were able to see our friend Andy finish first overall and run a new PR breaking 18:00 minutes in the 5K for the first time in his life.

Good stuff.

Post Race:  We hung around for the awards ceremony, caught up a bit on things and talked about joining Andy’s training group in the coming months.  I think that it is time for us to look at a change in our training regimen if we are going to continue to make strides and force adaptation at 45 1/2 years old.

Training on our own, developing our own training plans and workouts has taken us from a 3:58:06 marathon debut to a two-time Boston Marathon Finisher, a 1:23:30 half-marathoner with a solid 37:30 best 10K.  Not too shabby for a runner in their mid 40′s.  But we’re not done yet and we still have two goals out there that mean something to us.

That sub 3 hour marathon and a sub 18 minute 5K.

Running is absolutely an individual sport and effort.  It is one of the great metaphors for life.  Nobody can do it for you.

But to think that we are all in this alone is an egomaniacal and foolish view.  We all have people in our lives who help us from time to time.  Give us a pat on the back when we need it and a firm kick in the ass when required.

Maybe it’s time that we took that reality to our running.  One of the truly great things about the sport is that you can always reinvent yourself even as a 45-year-old Dad.

In two weeks we’ll be teeing it up at the Cooper River Bridge Run with 40,000 fellow runners on April 6th.  We’ve got two weeks to try to get as ready as possible for that event.

As Dom would say.  Time to go to work.

Race Report – Texas Independence Day 5K

If my math is correct, this is the 53rd race report since we started Run for Dom in 2010. 53 competitive road races and triathlons in a little more than 3 years. That is a whole lot of racin’.

The funny thing is, I can remember just about all of them. The weather, the courses, all of the PR’s and especially the races where things didn’t necessarily go my way. There were two races out of all of them where I was not entirely “whole”. Where instead of feeling like I was primed for a big performance, I was managing some sort of injury or comeback.

The first time was the Cooper River Bridge Run in 2011, the second time was Saturday morning.

It made for interesting levels of nervousness prior to the events where instead of wondering what the race clock was going to say when I crossed the finish line – the victory was going to be in simply finishing the race injury free.  In a bit of irony, the Texas Independence Day 5K was going to be my first real maximum effort workout since the Shiner Half Marathon in December.  The race where my Achilles strain occurred and knocked me out of the Houston Marathon.

It would also be my first step back toward our next “big” event which oddly enough is the very same Cooper River Bridge Run circa 2013.  A race now just 5 weeks away, the third largest 10K in the country.

Full circle it would appear two years later.

Knowing I was not quite prepared to race to my potential, I decided to ignore my watch, run entirely by feel and not obsess about splits and pace.  The course was unkind, starting at the south end of the Congress Avenue Bridge, starting on an incline and then heading straight uphill more than 125 feet to the Texas Capital.  In addition to the ascent, the course was going straight into a headwind and then would be turning four consecutive 90 degree left turns before crossing back in front of the State House and cruising back down to the finish line.

It was a pretty brutal circuit – especially for someone who had not done any speed work since two weeks before Christmas.

Instead of thinking about taking a shot at our 5K PR of 18:02 and maybe breaking through that 18 minute barrier my goals were much more uncomplicated for the race.

1.     Run your race.

2.     Test yourself, but be aware of your limits.

3.     Don’t do anything stupid out there.

On Friday evening I received a message from a good friend in New England.  We’ve known each other for a number of years now, he was there throughout Run for Dom, through the birth of my daughter, through multiple marathons for both of us – including some successes and failures.  Of everyone who knows me through the sport of running, he perhaps knows me best – especially when it comes to my motivations, my desire to test myself and my desire to always run with honor when it comes to strapping on my race flats with Dom’s initials on the side.

He shared with me an excerpt from a sermon delivered by his Grandfather in 1947.  It reads:

“As water reflects a man’s face so a man’s heart reflects the man.” – Proverbs 27:19.

I wrote that on a small piece of paper and carried it with me to the start of the race on Saturday morning.  It would be the last thing I would see before I fixed my gaze on Congress Avenue below my feet, bowed my head and waited for the muskets to fire and head out onto the course.

The Start:  I had sized up the field around me before the start.  There were approximately 300 runners lining up, 10 or so had “the look” in their eyes.  On another day I might have had enough talent to challenge each of them.  On Saturday I thought my odds of running in the top 5 were pretty slim, but we were going to give it our best shot.

Mile 1:  With the blast of four guns we were speeding off to the capital, we bounced up the first incline on the bridge and my legs felt like they were hardly touching the ground.  I had not run at this pace in more than two months – it felt exhilarating.  The wind was blowing 15 mph straight into the runners and as we crossed the unprotected bridge it was pretty fierce.

I was settling into fourth position and there was nobody to tuck behind except a young High School Runner who made me at 136.5 lbs. look like a linebacker.  He could not have been much more than 115 lbs. dripping wet.  We matched stride for stride for the opening 1/2 mile until I locked in to my even effort for the climb with him about :15 seconds in front of me.

I heard footsteps behind me over the opening half-mile, but by the time we reached 6th street and started the steepest part of the climb it was silent.  I was alone running in 4th place and unless I completely fell apart or another runner mounted a fierce change, that was where I was likely to stay.  Not even one mile into the race and our spot was firmly established.

It made forcing the issue even more pointless coming back from my Achilles strain and I thought about goal number 3 for the day.  Don’t do anything stupid.  We reached the end of mile 1 and at the beep I opened with a 6:10 first mile.  If you take :15 seconds for the wind and the climb we were approximately at 5:55 pace where we are usually at 5:45 at the start of a 5K.  :10 seconds off of our usual full-health fitness pace.  About what I had been averaging during my training runs.  Time to lock it in and stay even.

Mile 2:  The second mile started by climbing the last remaining stretch to 11th street and then battling up three consecutive hills around the capital.  On the highest point of downtown Austin the wind was howling and the pace was difficult to maintain.  I decided to bypass the water stop at the 1.55 mile mark and keep battling the elements.

On the last left turn I looked back over my shoulder and the fifth place runner was not making a dent in our lead.  I boxed the capital, made a right hand turn headed back toward the Congress Avenue Bridge and glanced down at my watch at the beep – 6:07.  I was :07 off of our usual mid-mile split.

Mile 3:  At the start of mile 3 I thought about putting down the gas a bit to maintain our pace but decided instead to just stay even.  I had a little bit more to give, but I wanted to be sure to keep our form and our stride uniform as we started the downhill section.

I would pick up a bit of speed in this section without having to hammer away at the pavement.  I was able to spot my co-worker Elise who snapped this photo along the route.

I hit the bridge with a final full mile at 5:55 pace.  Again about :10 off of where we might have been had we been on point, but a very respectable close to a solid race.

We hit the finish line in 18:43, 4th place overall, first place in the Masters Division.

Post Race:  The Texas Independence Day 5K was just a small race on a big day in the state of Texas.  By far my least favorite distance to race – it was the most fun I have had in a pair of running shoes in almost three months.

The takeaway from the race was that I can stop feeling tentative, stop analyzing every step that I take, every stride on my runs and wonder if something is “wrong” with my left side.

I’m back and while I can’t say I’m better than ever yet – I know it is just a matter of time.  I have a great plan in place for the next few months as we ramp up for Charleston, SC on April 6 then transition to Triathlon season for the summer.  By the time we return to the Kerrville Half-Ironman in September, we are going to be even more fit and more confident than we were one year ago.

Sub 5 hours in Kerrville is imminently possible if we stay healthy and get some race day weather cooperation.  From there it will be fall Marathon preparation for either a late winter race or perhaps a return trip to Houston where we finally get our chance to do battle on that storied course.

But thinking about those things are akin to flipping to the final page of a book to find out how it is going to turn out before you start it.  All in due time.  All in due time.

All I know right now is I have an appointment on Thursday morning with our hill for the first hill repeat session of 2013.

Time to get this train rollin’.