Go slow to go fast.

Kohl Elementary 5K

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2009201020112012
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Location:

Westminster,CO,USA

Member Since:

Nov 11, 2009

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

Finally started learning how to run in '09 after totally botching it up for the 14 years prior and dealing with chronic IT injury...have had zero IT band pain since fall of '09 and have run way more than ever before in my life...loving it.

PR's

Road Mile: 4:44 - Pearl St Mile August 2011 

2K: 6:32 - Uni HIll 2K 2011

3K: 10:07 - West end 3K 2011

5K - 16:53 - Turkey Leg 5K 2011

10K - 38:38 - Butte to Butte Eugene OR 2003 

Half - Never raced a half

Road Marathon - 2:57:19 - 11/12/2011 - solo.

Trail Marathon - 4:48 - Kings peak August 2011

55K - 4:59:54 - Moab red hot 55K 2011

Short-Term Running Goals:

Be healthy, run injury-free, listen to my body.

Sub 16 min 5K

Sub 34 min 10K

Sub 2:40 Marathon

    2012 Tentative Schedule

  1.  Quicker Quaker 5K January
  2. Boston Marathon - April
  3. ??

Long-Term Running Goals:

Get stronger, faster and more fit as a runner and biker to allow for bigger adventures as the years go on.

Still be running in my 80's.  

Personal:

I'm married to Nan Kennard and she kicks my butt at running.  She has beat me handily in every race we have done together except for a downhill mile we did once.  She is my running inspiration.  I'd like to run a marathon with her someday and actually keep up.  

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My Family Blog

My Business Blog 

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Bare Feet Lifetime Miles: 282.68
Cycling 2011 Lifetime Miles: 291.40
Altra Instinct July '10 Lifetime Miles: 637.35
Altra Instinct Sep '11 Lifetime Miles: 481.45
Altra Lone Peak Lifetime Miles: 157.50
Altra Instinct Black Lifetime Miles: 69.00
Altra Adam Lifetime Miles: 27.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
42.850.007.850.0050.70
NB MT101 - Green 11 Miles: 8.10NB 205 Kimbia Miles: 15.70NB MT101 - Black 11 Miles: 8.25NB MT101 - Black 11.5 Miles: 14.25
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.100.000.000.008.10

Easy.  Slow.  Marshall to s. boulder creek, up to mesa, to lower big bluestern and home past fairview.

8.1 miles - 1:13 - 9:00avg - 650' vertical. 

NB MT101 - Green 11 Miles: 8.10
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00
Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.700.002.500.0010.20

That felt really good.

After 3 days of feeling sluggish and lethargic it was really nice to feel normal again today.  

Met George at 6:15 in broomfield to preview the kohl elementary 5K course and get a final workout in before the race this Saturday.  Its fantastic now that the sun is coming up at 6:00 am, makes getting an early start a whole lot nicer.  It was great to run the course and test out race pace for 2 min. intervals on the various sections.  I'm feeling decent about my chances of hitting sub 17 and getting excited to give it a go.  I'm also feeling pretty good about the chances of mile 3 hurting really bad if I do go sub 17.  But fortunately it finishes on a slight downhill for 3/4 of the last mile which is definitely my preference and better for my 'larger stature'.

my 2 min. pace splits on the course: 5:35, 5:20 (downhill), 5:50(uphill), 5:29, 5:24, 4:53 (only 1 min.).

My first three intervals only averaged 5:35, which is not sub 17 pace.  So that's a bit disconcerting.  But I wasn't going all out of course, and I kept feeling better as the intervals progressed.  I feel good about not having worked too hard today.  In the last 2 5K's I've done I think I pushed too hard in the workout the week of.  Today's workout was just the right effort I feel.

10.2 miles total - 1:12:40 - 7:08 avg - 240' vert. 

 

NB 205 Kimbia Miles: 10.20
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.250.000.000.008.25

Easy and flat.  Marshall, S. boulder creek to Cherryvale and back.

8.25 miles - 1:09:28 - 8:25avg - 250' vert

NB MT101 - Black 11 Miles: 8.25
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00
Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.750.001.250.008.00

8 Miles - 1 hour - 7:30avg - 430' vert

Easy run with 5 x 1/4 mile pickups in the middle.  3 up hill, then 2 down hill.

Pace splits:  1:28, 1:30, 1:28, 1:14, 1:16

Feeling really good.  Also it was gorgeous, sunny and 60 degrees when I went running at noon today.  Thoroughly enjoyable. 

NB MT101 - Black 11.5 Miles: 8.00
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00
Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.250.001.000.006.25

Easy run on the bear creek path plus 4 strides and then 4 x 1 min - all between about 5:10-5:15 pace.  Feeling ready to lower my 5K time tomorrow.  60 degrees and sunny this morning.  Doesn't look like tomorrow's temp forecast is quite as warm, but should still be sunny.

6.25 miles - 49:43 - 7:57 avg - 230' vert 

 

NB MT101 - Black 11.5 Miles: 6.25
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00
Comments(2)
Race: Kohl Elementary 5K (3.1 Miles) 00:17:26, Place overall: 9, Place in age division: 5
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.800.003.100.009.90

Fun morning!  Wish it wasn't quite so windy - and chilly.  The wind made my sub 17 min. goal more challenging than it otherwise should have been, but oh well.  I was only able to pull off a 17:26 today.  But that's close to a 30 second PR, so that's cool.  I will get to 17 soon I think.  It's inevitable if I'm going to make to to 16 right?

 

Breanne after taking 1st for kindergarten - and taking home some gift card $$

 

 

Bre at the start

 

The highlight of the morning was watching my 5 yr. old Breanne win her first race though!  It was incredibly cute.  Like mother like daughter.   Quote from Bre after: "Mom, thats the first time I've run a race and finished 1st place!".  When asked how she did it, "I just moved my legs faster and faster!".    She is the most coordinated and naturally athletic of our kids for sure.  And she stepped up and raced against the kindergarten kids and handily beat all the girls and boys, winning a $10 gift card and feeling pretty happy with herself.

 

Bre, focused, looking for the finish at the 1/2 mile mark.

 

Abe followed our pre-race advice perfectly, went out slower than everyone, and ended up in 2nd place for 1st grade boys.  And then he broke down in tears to find out that only 1st place gets a prize.  It was pretty funny actually (but I resisted laughing as I comforted him as he shed the tears of dealing with the tough breaks of 2nd place!)

I guess its kind of inevitable that our kids our going to be exposed to running and racing throughout their lives since Nan and I are so into it.  But the cool thing is that they get completely jazzed and excited about the opportunity to participate in a race.  I guess they might get jealous seeing Mom and Dad do it all the time.  Abe and Bre were seriously stoked last night when I reminded them that they got to do a race in the morning if they wanted to.  Which is always cool as a parent to see the kids get excited about the things that we enjoy.  It would be cool if that lasts.  And if not, that's cool too though.  I'm of the strong opinion of not forcing my kids to like what I like.  And we are trying to expose them to a lot of different things.  I liked how Abe got the chance to learn a lesson first hand like that at a young age though.  It was a good teaching opportunity.

 

Abe starting out smart at the back of the pack

 

 

Cruising into the finish, excited to hear his name in the cheers I think.

 

 

Abe experiencing some good 'ol 2nd place blues!  

 

Abe has always been pretty keen on winning whatever it is he is doing...its good for him to be learning lessons about that.

Race start, Left to right, me, Brandon (kind of hidden), Lucho (also kind of hidden) - bunch of young dudes in front of us

So as for my race, my goal was to run under 17 minutes.  Which would be a 53 second PR for me and kind of a stretch perhaps.  But even after this race, I do think I'm fit enough to do that in the right conditions.  When I ran the course as a warmup, I knew that the 2nd mile would be the crux of it.  It had a 1/3 mile downhill, followed by a 2/3 mile up hill into a pretty stiff head wind.  I knew it would be a slower mile, for everyone.  And that I would need to run faster the first mile to make up for it.

At the start, Lucho (just left of me there) and I talked about wanting to go sub 17 at the start line.  Of course I knew he was just being humble saying he was only shooting for 17, and that if I were to actually keep up with him that would not have been his best day by any means.  But he didn't have a watch to pace from.  I now wish that I didn't.  Next time I run a 5K I'm going to ditch the GPS entirely and race by feel.  I feel I made a tactical error in this race by going off my own pacing plan to strictly the first mile.  I may not have gone sub 17 had I done it differently, but I think I could have been faster had I stayed with lucho's group the first mile.

Off the line I went with the lead pack for the first couple hundred meters and then backed off to settle into a 5:20 ish pace.  That meant that through the first mile the 10 or 15 leaders continuously gained ground on me.  The problem with that strategy of sticking to my even pace, was that the first mile was flat with a tail wind.  Lucho hit the first mile 15-20 seconds ahead of me, which was very smart of him to stick with another guy or two at that point.  The first mile for me felt totally controlled as I passed it in around 5:20 (per my gps, which lapped sooner than the actual mile marker.)  But then I was back in no-mans land,  because the two guys closest in front of me fell off pace severely, right as we hit the head wind down hill section so I had to just pass them.  And for my 6' 2.5" wide frame, the solo effort into a stiff head wind is not super favorable.

At least it was downhill at that point.  But soon enough it was up hill again for a longish grind (not that 2/3 of a mile ever really feels long) into the wind.  I knew that I needed to make this stretch as solid as possible to hit my goal, so I pushed the exertion level up a notch or two.   And I gained ground on Lucho and the 2 or 3 others between him and me.  By the top of the hill I had come to within 10-15 feet behind Jeffry Buechler from Boulder. He happens to look just like Ryan Burch from behind and gave me a nice little mental boost to try and catch him.  I was picturing that I was dueling Burch for 2 out of 3 honors.  We still need to have a re-match.

Lucho (ie Tim Waggoner) about to crest the hill near mile 2

My view the last half of the race...Jeffrey Buechler (met him after the race)

Me, Coming around the corner near the top of the hill

Gaining on him, didn't ever get too much closer than this though.

Just after this shot we hit the bike path and as I got closer to Jeffry, he heard my heavy breathing and surged.  It was flat at that point and heading toward the down hill stretch, and he gapped me a bit more.  I tried to recover a little from the up hill push, while still keeping the pace down to 5:20.  My second mile was a 5:51 pace, which I knew meant I would need to be under 5:20 and have a solid kick if I was going to hit my goal.

I like this shot Nan got.  Lucho, Zack Watson, Andy Rinne, Jeffry Buechler, then me, coming down the final down hill.

Trying to increase speed, not having a ton of success going faster than 5:20 at this point.

I couldn't catch back up to Jeffry, but I kept the gap the same to the end pretty much. But I also couldn't get the pace below 5:20 as much as I tried.  The up hill headwind section had taken a toll on me apparently.

As I rounded the corner to the final 200 meters, it was an all out NON-Sprint.  As much as I tried, the acceleration was not happening.  It had some to do with being close to maxed out, but more to do with being close to maxed out and then turning straight into a super stiff head wind for the last 200 meters.  It felt like running through sand.

Lucho finishing strong

The finish stretch sure felt a lot more sand like than that looks like

I Crossed the line in 17:26, 9th overall.  And I think it was my first time not getting 'chicked' in, maybe, ever.  I'll chalk it up to a good PR and a solid effort.

But like I said, next time I race a 5K, I'm going by feel.  I'm kind of tired of over analyzing the pace.  Pacing is a good thing.  But I feel like I should not have put on the breaks in the first mile.  I want to try pacing by feel next time.  I feel I should have stayed with a couple people in the first mile while it was easy.  Maybe I would have blown up.  Or maybe if I would have just stuck with Lucho and worked with him through the wind section, with 3 of us, it could have propelled all of us to faster times.  Or a big blow up for me...who knows.  What I do know is that there's not much of anything to lose by risking it in a 5K.  If you blow up, its only going to hurt bad for a couple minutes.  Its not like a 50K or 50 Miler where you can pretty much plan on a 2-4 hour sufferfest if you go out way too hard.  And if you take the risk, you then have the chance to go beyond what you may have thought possible.  That's mostly a paraphrase from what I gleaned from a post race chat with Lucho...great insight and great chatting with him.  He's got me by a massive margin in experience racing and training, I appreciate his sound advice.

Race review...Lucho did a great job of nailing my goal pace.  Me, not quite.  The wind was definitely a factor.  I think everyone could have run 20-25 seconds faster if it were calm.

It was great seeing a bunch of blogosphere and other folks out there this morning.  Here are a bunch of other great pics Nan took of the morning.

Brownie at the finish - hmmm..I'm pretty sure that's a girl in front of you.  Just kidding, solid race out there today Brownie with an 18:38!  You almost reeled her in too.

Don Conkey, finishing strong

Brandon looking fierce at the finish, the flames on his shoes really accentuate it...I need to get some of those!  He wasn't about to be out kicked at the line.  And got himself a PR too, nice.

Love how George opted to run in with his son, very cool.

And look at JZ's form!  Nice!

Watching the awards, Brownie hidden behind Lucho, George, Brandon

And last but not least, Lucho taking the prize for first in our Age group 30-39 (5th overall)

NB 205 Kimbia Miles: 5.50
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00
Comments(7)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
42.850.007.850.0050.70
NB MT101 - Green 11 Miles: 8.10NB 205 Kimbia Miles: 15.70NB MT101 - Black 11 Miles: 8.25NB MT101 - Black 11.5 Miles: 14.25
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00
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