Saturday, March 20, 2010

2010 Sedalia Half Marathon

If you are looking for results, they will be posted at Columbia Track Club soon.

We left Columbia with rain, encountered snow on the way, and then it stopped snowing before we arrived in Sedalia. There was snow on the ground, but did not stick to the roads so just wet and slightly slushy in places. Temperature was 32 and there was a brisk wind, I think out of the N-NW. I ran my warm-up and got hot, but whenever I turned into the wind, I would feel cold. I opted to remove the jacket and pants, but kept the 2 shirts, gloves, headband, and wore shorts with an under-layer.

Ideally, I was hoping for around a 6:25 pace and to break my PR of 1:25:05 from last year. With the conditions today, I was waiting to see what happened. Started off close to my pace at 6:28 for the first mile. At this point I was in 4th place and was hoping I could maintain that position. It didn't look like I could catch anyone ahead of me and I had a small lead over those behind me. I could see Tom ahead of me.

I took water at the first aid station but could barely choke any of it down as it felt kind of cold. Really, not a whole lot happened the first half. We were running into the wind at times, had cross-winds, and wind behind us. I took my gel at about 6 miles and had a drink at the turn around. Ryan was out in front, and Tom was in second. Katie was in the lead for first female. Hugh looked like he was running strong too.

After the turn around, I still felt pretty good and the gel felt like it had given me a little boost. I felt strong and the road was in pretty good shape considering the wet and a bit of slush. The worst part of the race was mile 10 when at one point heading straight into the strong wind. It was wearing me down just a bit. I ran that mile in 6:30, my slowest up to that point. Then we turned and finally got out of the wind and I recovered in mile 11.

Mile 12, I started to see if I could pick up the pace a bit and ran 6:18. Continued to pick up a little more and mile 13 in 6:10. Finishing time was 1:23:51, a 1 min 14 sec PR! I finished feeling strong! I placed 2nd in 40 - 45 age group and 4th overall out of 70 runners. Tom was first in my age group and 3rd overall. Ryan and Katie both won overall. Hugh was 3rd in his age group and only a few seconds slower than last year. We all won a glass block. Not a big turnout today due to the weather but could have been much worse weather. Hugh and I had Mazzios for lunch.

1 Mi 6:29
2 Mi 6:26
3 Mi 6:29
4 Mi 6:21
5 Mi 6:24
6 Mi 6:26
7 Mi 6:23
8 Mi 6:22
9 Mi 6:22
10 Mi 6:30
11 Mi 6:26
12 Mi 6:18
13 Mi 6:10
0.13 Mi 6:12

Saturday, March 13, 2010

2010 St. Patrick's Day 5K

If you are looking for results, they are posted here.

Today I ran the St. Patrick's Day 5K. I ran this race consistently until 2006. Then in 2007 - 2008, I ran 3 Days of Syllamo which I decided to skip this year. I wasn't sure if I want to run today, but decided last week I would do my long run on Tuesday and see how I felt. The long run went well so I decided to sign up since I was free on Saturday and I kind of missed doing this race.

Temperature today was 43 F and humid but it had stopped raining and the streets were wet. We hoped to arrive early enough to warm up for 3 miles on the course, but needed to use the restroom too many times so only had a mile warm up. The course was supposed to be certified, but there was a slight detour today. I had run it before as the Jingle Bell Run in 2007 when I had a terrible race and didn't break 20 minutes that day. I had not yet run it as the St. Pat's run so today was my second time running this course (other than the slight change).

The race starts out at a slight up hill which is also a downhill at the end. The race was not chip timed. I lined up in front and we were off to a fast start. I had to get around a few people at the beginning before settling into a pace. I thought before the race maybe I could try holding a 5:45 for the first mile. However, I tried to get the pace down but 6 min seemed to be where my body wanted to be today. On College I notice someone lined up right beside me running. I look over and it is Katie. I feel like I am having to work a bit in this first mile. Breathing kind of hurt and I had phlegm issues as well. The first mile was 6:01 so not too bad.

I think I am now warmed up so I will try picking up the pace. It happened but didn't last and Katie is still running beside me. Mile 2 was 5:56 so a little faster. The breathing didn't get any worse or easier. Before mile 3, Katie pulls ahead on a downhill. I catch up to a guy that had passed us earlier and stay behind me. When we turned the corner on the street with the finish line, I decide to pass him which I think was a bit soon. He caught back up and really sped up. I let him go even though I was running faster and downhill. Mile 3 was 6:06. Overall time was 18:28 which is the second fastest 5K I have run on a course that isn't short.

I really wasn't sure what kind of 5K shape I am in, but overall I am happy with the time with no taper and pretty even splits. Some years, my time would be good enough for first place in age group, but this year it was not good enough for top 3. Placed 4 of 28 in age group and 17 of 584 overall. Hugh placed 3rd in his age group and 65th overall.