USO Run for the Troops 5k Race Report

Well, this is my last 5k for a while, which means I can sleep in a little on Saturdays, but I am a sucker for running for a cause, so go figure! Luckily this was a local race also, so that would help!

Saturday turning into a busy day with a race in the morning, then went to the Gun Show (not the "Gun Show", a real one), took the wife to the range to fire her new pistol and then dinner and a movie at night (She went to a play with a friend and I went to a movie with the friends son!), so that was a fun day. Well, on to the race report.

We got to the race somewhat early, since it was 15 minutes from my door, so we got there so I could pick up my packet, stretch and all that good stuff. The temps were a bit on the chilly side, right around 39-42*, so a bit cool, so I opted to wear the long sleeve shirt to race in, but it was nice and sunny.

The race was to benefit the USO of North Carolina, which was the first USO ever, and since they do not accept federal funds, they have to take donations, which is an awesome cause, because they do so much for the troops, both home and deployed. But the turnout was really good, with 320 runners and probably twice that walking, so a rather large race for the area. Nice!

Well I wasn't in my comfort zone since I forgot my heart rate strap and sunglasses, so I wasn't all warm and fuzzy, but I would get by. Glad I took my Claritin, because the azaleas, dogwoods and pine were a polinatin' and with out it I would have been a big, snotty mess. But I warmed up and headed to the start / finish line.

Well the line up was interesting, I was sandwiched between a bunch of bunnies (sorry guys, not Playmate bunnies, dudes with bunny ears) and a lady with no pants (she was old and wearing the "Speedo" style bottoms). Well the gun went off and I bolted out with the lead pack of about 20-30 and we cruised thru Fayetteville Tech's campus until we got to the first turn, which the leaders (about 15-18) went straight and I was in third (briefly!) until the lead pack figured it out. The lack of direction and course marking was going to be a reoccuring theme, so get ready for it!

I was feeling not bad and keeping within eyesight of the leaders on the winding roads near the campus and hung tough when someone passed me, I would get back with them immediately. I was moving well and not feeling too bad. I saw the leaders pass the waterpoint / turn around point (it was briefed at the pre-race) but I guess the volunteers didn't know to tell folks to turn around, and the two leaders blazed by them and most everyone turned at the waterpoint as the leaders came running back. Well, at least we know that there were no more surprises on the way back!
At around mile 2 1/2, I was getting a bit tired and lost my focus for a bit, but quickly regained it and kept motoring on. I figured that I was going to make my final push at the last turn (about 1/2 mile to the finish) until I passed the 3 mile mark. I really got confused then. So I went a bit early, and figured that the course was mismarked a bit, so I eased up to save that last match for the kick at the end.

I slowly rolled on the steam after the corner and passed a few more folks, but couldn't catch that last guy in front of me (he ended up being the 1st place in my age group), but I hit stop on my watch and looked at the time, 23:22, and thought, "Wow, I thought I was faster than that!", then looked at the distance, which was 3.54 miles. Whoops, just a little long there! A bunch of the guys that finished in front of me were bitching and complaining, but I looked at the map before the race and knew the turns, and even knew the turnaround point (race briefing), so even though the race was longer than advertised, they had all the information about the race, if they had paid attention. But oh well, I ran my race.

I jogged over to the port-o-lets and then back by the vendors, MuscleMax and the Spa, who was giving massages (which of course I took!) and then waited for the results (20th overall, and 2nd in my AG, by 5 seconds) and collected my medal and thanked the volunteers (USO, Purolator Employees, and the Red Cross) and headed out.

So not too bad of a race, just a little long, but like they say, everyone had to run the same distance. Guess I am not going to race until the end of the month at the Riverwood Sprint Triathlon in Clayton, so I can work on training and getting my ride and swim up to par now. But all is well! Take care everyone and I'll post a weekly workout list later today!

Raleigh Run the Ridge 5k Race Report

Well not sure what happened to the heat, but this weekend was REALLY cold, but that didn't stop me from racing this weekend. I ran the Run the Ridge 5K with a friend of mine, Kindra Arthur and it was for a great cause, the Pretty in Pink foundation, which supports cancer patients by paying their hospital bills if they can't afford it with insurance. I love good causes and I think this one ranks right up there. Well I got up early (for a weekend) and drove over to Kindra's house, forgetting my breakfast on the counter, and got there at about 0630, so we could drive up to Raleigh together. Got to meet her pups (which were hyper) and her friend, Wendy, who was on the mend and didn't race. Well we loaded up and got on the road. It didn't take us too long to get up there, but we started to have problems with the GPS and took a few extra turns to get to the race site.

Of course, since I didn't get my breakfast, I had a breakfast burrito and a Slim Jim for my meal, yum! We got there and got out, noting that it was colder here than in Fayetteville, and got our race numbers and chips, I ended up with #13 (not too forbodding or anything!), so we stretched, warmed up and went to the big blue church to worship, and we were ready. One of the locals told us that this course was hilly, beginning with a 1/2 mile up hill stretch and that you were either running up hill or downhill, no flat spots, awesome! Well, that turned out to be true, as I started the race about in 10th or so, and hit the first of many hills, and wow, it too the wind out of a bunch of folks sails. But I powered up the hill and noticed a tiny female ahead of me, so I had my eyes set on her to pick off and she was hanging tough until about the 1 mile mark, where my strength up hill and my body weight downhill overcame her youth, but she was tough to catch and pass. After passing her, I had just two guys ahead of me, so I wanted to keep them in sight and hope to make up some ground on them. But with all the up and down hills, I couldn't close the gap fast enough, even when the guy in second kept looking back for me, I knew he was hurting, but I couldn't quite get there. The best part was the end of the race, with a nice half mile downhill, which was very welcome. I ended up setting a new PR again, with a 20:54 despite all the hills, so I can't wait until I hit some flat roads again, and best yet, got a podium finish (3rd, but they didn't have a podium, sad face). But again, finished 2nd in my age group, so 3rd overall and 2nd in age group, oh well. It was a fun race, and Kindra ended up winning her age group, despite everyone after 6th place took a wrong turn. But the tiny girl that I passed, she was age 12! And the guy behind her was 13! Man, makes you feel old, since their combined ages still don't equal my age! Yikes!

But I talked to her father (who was originnaly from Michigan) and she is getting ready for high school cross country. Me thinks she will do just fine if she runs like that. But the even better part was post-race breakfast at O'Malley's Pub. Some of the best pancakes that I have tasted in a while, yum! And like always, I didn't hurl at the finish line! Yea me! Well guess I have to keep training to keep dropping that time down, but I hate the cold wet weather of spring!

Weekend Update (and mini-race Report!)

Well another weekend down, they really should make them all 3 day weekends! Oh well, it was a fun weekend all and all, plus I got points for helping in the garden with the wife! Bonus! And I only really wussed out on one workout, so that wasn't so bad.

Friday after work, took a nice 12 mile ride on the Jamis, which was a little longer using a new Pope AAF (AFB) since the gates are now open, but the roads leading there are VERY bumpy, so might have to find a better way of getting there without mixing my innards up like a blender! Nice!

Woke up early (read: 0815) and jogged over to Hendrix Stadium on post for the Moral, Welfare, and Recreation Monthly Family 5K fun run. I hadn't done one, so I figured that it would be a good speed workout, so why not. Jogged over and stretched a bit more and at 0900 on the dot, the "race" was on! I went out at a good pace, keeping the leaders in sight, luckily the first 1/4 to 1/2 mile was downhill, so that was a nice leg stretcher. But with every good thing, the universe must have a bad thing to balance itself out, so the next half mile was completly uphill, so sad face, but I wasn't too effected by it. I actually made up ground on folks there, so that was a good thing. I just tried to maintain a nice easy pace and keep moving forward. Once I got back to the stadium, you head downhill a little bit and finish on the track (after running 3/4 of a lap). Despite my leasurely outlook on this "race", I ended up crossing the line at 21:08, a new PR. Wow not bad for just taking it easy! I walked around, was told I was top-10 (doesn't get you anything), drank some gatorade and jogged back to the house.

In the evening, I took the QR out for a ride, riding the Pope Loop twice for 18 miles, which felt good, but wears me out some what. I rode without the aero bottle, but glad I took a water bottle as it was warm. Came home, helped in the yard, and relaxed for the night.

Sunday was fun, took Harley to one of the drop zones and let her chase birds and run crazy (she always looks forward to Sundays for this reason). I always record how far we go, so the humans walk about a mile, but Har ends up about 1 1/2 miles from all the running she does. It makes her happy and tired. We got home watched some hoops and the race, fell asleep for 3 hours (all of us) and then hit the road for another Pope Double, this time on the Jamis. Not bad, but about 2-2 1/2 mph slower (no aero). So all in all, another good weekend!

I'd also like to thank Ken, my first real follower (I thought a week ago I had a follower, but it was just myself, oops, no friends!), so THANKS! And let's look at this weeks workouts:

Monday: Run 4 miles, swim 2000yards
Tuesday: Run 5 miles, jump out of airplane, $1 bowling night!
Wednesday: Run 5 miles, Moe's Wednesday!, Survivor night
Thursday: Run 5 miles, swim 2000yards
Friday: Run 5 miles, swim 1800yards
Saturday: Race in Raleigh (Run the Ridge 5K); long 30mile Bike
Sunday: Run 12 miles, bike 12 miles

Sounds like a full week for me, but if I keep getting faster, it is worth it. Now if I can just lose some more weight to get even faster... Enjoy your week everybody! And check the Azalea post, I will have pictures in there!

Sanford President's Day 5K Race Report

Well, I have slacked a little bit, but I have been busy this last week, and I'm really lazy when it comes to writing! But here is the race report (minus photos, the wife stayed home and official photos won't be available until March 7th), so okey-dokey artichoky...

Well got up somewhat early on Saturday and the wife informs me that she has a bad migrane, so I was going to go it alone. So grabbed my gear, a couple of bananas and a Diet A&W and jumped in the car a drove the 45 minutes to Sanford. It took me a little time to find the race, but GPS hasn't failed me yet! I got to the church where they were holding the race and got my race packet, chip, and goodie bag and headed back to the car.

My back was a bit sore, so I turned on the car and the heated seats (Best. Thing. Ever.) and listened to some music while I attached my chip and race number (whoo hoo, got #7, Lucky!) and after about 30 minutes got out and stretched and took a light jog and got ready for the race. Took a GU, first time for that, about 15 minutes before the start. I think that it helped.

I headed (read: followed everyone) towards the start line, which was 1/4 mile down the street. The run route was a very odd one, as it was described to me as a ugly bow tie. You see, you start a 1/4 mile away and run toward the church, around the back, back towards the start line, go to the turn around, come back and pass the start line again, around the church and finish. Just a little odd, but not bad. I did take offense to the term "slight rises", which were slight, but just about 3/4 of a mile long, times two! But you do get to run down them, so that is good.

Ok, back to the start, I had to ask which way we were running, since I was facing the wrong way, oops. But I looked around and made three goals: don't get beat by a guy in headphones, anyone pushing a stroller, and try not to be passed by too many females! Well, despite one hellishly fast lady (who showed up in a New Balance Truck no less, and took 4th overall) I accomplished my goals.

The first mile was somewhat flat and fast, cruising thru at about 6:33, and I could still see the leaders too! But I was dueling with one guy for a bit when I finally dropped him at the two mile mark (I think I was around 13:50ish) and I continued to close on the pack in front of me, but it was hard and I was pushing it pretty good. I passed the start line for the final time and started a burst to make sure I wasn't going to get caught from behind, and rounded the church and put in a little kick to finish at 21:14, good for 16th overall. I was surprised with the time, because I hadn't felt particularly fast, but I will take it. Ended up cheering other runners in while I stretched and drank some water, which was fun. Then watched the kids fun run, some of those kids were hopped up on sugar, because they were moving kinda fast!

But all in all, it was a fun race, nice small race atmosphere, and even took 2nd in my AG! Nice! I think that I might do this race again next year. I will post pictures when I can get my hands on them!

NHL All Star Game 5k Race Report

Pictured: Sparky and Me sharing a moment before the race

OK, I am going to try my hand at my first race report, from the 2011 NHL Allstar Game 5K in Raleigh, NC on Jan 29, 2011. This was a fun race to run, kinda disappointed that not too many NHL players came out to watch / run, but hey, it was still a well put on event.Jen (my wife) and I left early (too early for her I think) and had to drive the 1 ½ hours to Raleigh, which I wasn’t sure I was going to make it for packet pick up in time, but alas we made it just fine. Parking was good, just amazed at how many came out, I was thinking a few hundred, but the overall turnout was around 2000! Oh ok, just a little crowded. Well picked up my packet, and then stood in line to get chipped up, and still had about 30 minutes to stretch, get my picture taken with some of the mascots (Like Sparky from the NY Islanders, who was stretching out too) and I had to get rid of my nerves. True I have toed the line many, many times over my running and racing career, but I still get the butterflies most times. But got them all worked out, kissed the wife and ran over to the start line to do some strides and pickups. Got back to the line area for the brief brief, and then followed the masses to the start line.



Uhhh, bad news, the start line was very tight, only a two lane road width, and I was a ways back. My last minute stretches were hard, because it was like stretching in a phone booth! But the gun went off, and oh about 30 seconds of standing around, I finally crossed the line (more on this at the end), so as I weaved in and out of “traffic”, I high-fived all the mascots, and then went wide right and on to the side walk (where no one was running) and picked up the pace a bit. The good part was I had great motivation ahead of me, all the slower runners that were in the chute ahead of me, I could reel in, so that was a great confidence booster right there.
Pictured: Me wayyyyy off in the distance before mile 1

A lot of folks were running in hockey jerseys, so when I ran past a guy in a Bruins jersey with a “4” in white tape, I gave him a thumps up and “Number 4, Bobby Orr!” and that made him laugh, since most folks don’t know the classic players, just the ones on the Canes. But I continued to pick off folks and I can safely say that I passed everyone that I could, and only got passed by one person, which we passed and repassed each other a few times (later, she passed me and I lost her). At the finish line I talked with her for a bit and told her good race (Mollie, thanks for stopping to chat after the race).
Back to the action, the last mile or so, I picked up the pace and was rewarded with a nice smooth downhill that a kid I was closing on decided was a good time to sprint. Well bad news bub, he made it to the bottom and was repassed by everyone he had passed in his “mad dash” including me as we went back up hill towards Carter-Finley Stadium. The final turn, I had a few folks that I could still pick off, so I turned on the burners and held them fairly well. At the finish line, I had to breath deeply so I wouldn’t toss the cookies (I had a spell of a few races dating back to the Rudolph Red Nose 7.2 miler in 2009, where after racing hard at the end, I puked. Unfortunately it was almost onto the “Crocs” of my Masters Swim Coach! Whoops). So my standing goals for every race is, don’t puke! I think it is just me being out of shape.

Pictured (T): Trying to pass the last few I could!

(B): Got all but one!

Ok, I digress. In the end, I clocked a 21:34 chip time (22:09 gun time) for 69th overall out of 958 runners. For me, that is a modern PR. I am not counting my faster college and high school days. But the two times I received were both MDPRs. Here in lies the rub that gets me, the results were ranked by the gun time, not the chip time, which was when you ACTUALLY cross the start line. I am only a little mad, since I would have moved up one whole place, but I noticed one guy was 20 places from where his chip time had him. Now that would suck! I hope he didn’t miss a podium because of that. But over all, it was a good race, my calves got a little tight, then the wife and I went shopping at the Cane’s gift shop and I picked up a sweet Nick Lidstrom All Star jersey and she got a light weight hoody. Good times!

Pictured (T): Me in front of the Finish Line with

my new Lidstrom Jersey (B): The finisher's medal