Wheeler Farm Loops

We stayed about 1.5 miles from the start, so I was able to sleep in for a long time and just run to the starting line as part of my warmup. I made sure to get another really good warmup (3.5 miles easy plus a bunch of strides so my heartrate was already up to Mach 10). There were 11 of us in the elite men's mile, the second to last heat of the morning (the DOG mile was last, and it was so funny to watch). They had about a dozen heats - all different age groups, a family fun run, then master's men/women and elite men/women, then finally the dogs.

The field was obviously loaded. Jordan, who had crushed me the day before, had the same plans for a weekend double as me. Christian Hesch was there, along with some other guys who had run sub 3:45 1500m races recently. A first place prize of $500 for a mile brings out some talent. I knew I was in over my head a bit, but that's what I needed and wanted.

The course is a point to point down State Street in downtown Santa Barbara. It's a net downhill of about 1.5% average. You can really roll fast on this course. We were running into a headwind, but it definitely wasn't enough to negate the downhill!

The gun goes off and everyone is out like a freaking rocket! I'm pretty sure I'm close to last place after 100m (turns out there was one guy behind me). The main pack went through the quarter in 56 seconds, I came through in about 60 point something. I hit the half-mile in 2:03, and three-quarters in 3:07. They were calling out splits so I never looked at my watch. No one has passed me and no one has come back to me yet. Finally I started reeling one guy in and got him with maybe 200m to go. Then I set my sights on the next guy and really started making up some ground on him, but just ran out of room. A couple more strides and I might have gotten him... we were neck and neck at the finish line.

I had 4:09.4 on my watch, and I asked one of the clock people at the finish line what my time was, and they confirmed the 4:09. Made sense, that's what I saw on the main clock as I hit the finish. Cool - I felt pretty good about that time even though I got my butt kicked. Four of the guys went under 4 minutes. But then when the official results were posted, they had me at4:12. There's a big difference between 4:09 and 4:12. I'm pretty darn sure that I didn't click the stop button 25m before the finish line! So now, if my time really was 4:12, I'm not so happy about it. It doesn't really add up - since I hit 3/4 in 3:07 and really felt like I accelerated in the last couple hundred meters. That would mean I ran a 65 second last quarter... I don't know... its all splitting hairs at this point. What's done is done. The race was hand timed, so I guess a mistake could have been made, who knows? Its a downhill race anyways so it doesn't even "count". Next year I'll just have to go back and break 4 minutes with room to spare! 

I cooled down 4.5 miles, back to the hotel plus some extra. My legs felt way too good during the cool down - to the point where it was frustrating! I did 6-8 hard & fast hill sprints towards the end of the run and felt strong. 

Middle distance racing is a whole different world. I just wasn't prepared to move my legs any faster, it takes some re-training of the brain. But I think I can run so much better at these shorter distances... I need to keep at it and work on my speed endurance and race tactics. It will come with more practice and time. As nerve wracking as these short races are, they are also really fun. I think if I ran this mile over again the next day, I could go even faster. I really don't think fitness was my limiting factor - instead it was a lack of intuitive knowledge about how to run the race, how hard to push (mental toughness?), when to make a big move, etc. Ultimately, having the confidence to take a big chance and know that you can hold that pace. Or just be reckless enough to try it!

AM - 9 miles up to work. First couple with Andrea. Got in after midnight last night, so not a lot of sleep, but I'm still pretty jacked up from the weekend and therefore wasn't tired at all. I posted my reports from both races - Fontana Days 5K and State Street Mile.

PM - 6.2 miles, met Andrea on the way down to SHP and did a lap around the perimeter. Just easy running today. 

AM - 7.3 miles up to work.

PM - 7.5 miles. Ran 4.5 miles down to the track, then 3 x 1600m @ HM pace - 4:58, 4:56, 4:54. Windy out, but the pace felt easier than usual... probably because I wasn't sprinting like on Sunday! Walked back to Andrea's car for a cooldown... gotta cut back the miles this week somehow.

AM - 7.5 miles. JAJA run, but Andrea unfortunately had to stop after a few minutes. Ran for an easy hour w/ Allie and James, primarily discussing the new Big Cottonwood Marathon. If it doesn't drop 3500+ feet, is a marathon even worth running? :-)

I'm pretty bummed out for Andrea. Trying to stay excited about my own races this weekend, but its hard to see her fight through so much, whip herself into incredible shape, and then have it break down again before she even got a chance to race again. Doesn't seem fair. 

PM - 4.5 miles. Did a loop around the perimeter of SHP, then to the track - 4 x 600m (200m jog) @ 10K pace [avg = 1:48.3] + 4 x 200m (30s rest) in 32.2 seconds average. Kept the effort easy, just enough to keep the legs feeling sharp. Wore my heavy shoes so I'll feel extra light on my feet when I put on my 3oz spikes on Friday night.

AM - 5 miles easy.

I put up a bunch of pictures from last weekend on Wasatch & Beyond. Southern California is really nice and I'm already trying to figure out when another trip can be arranged...

PM - 3 miles w/ Andrea + some short strides. 

10K is at 8:55pm tomorrow night. We're flying to Portland in the afternoon. The plan is simple - run a 5K PR for the first half, then start racing :-) Decided to scratch from the 5K on Saturday night and just spend the rest of the weekend visiting the coast and doing vacation things. I think I could pull of a pretty good double, but its actually a lot more important to me to spend a fun weekend with Andrea and not just sit around a hotel waiting for the next race. In this case, since the 10K is Friday, I get to have my cake and eat it too.

3 mile easy run in the morning with Andrea. Then a half day of work and flew to Portland. We landed and all the stereotypes about the city were confirmed within minutes - it was raining, our rental car was a Subaru, and there were bike lanes and complicated recycling options everywhere! Got to the hotel, took a nap, then headed over to the track at Lewis & Clark College around 6:30pm. Watched a few of the other races, then started warming up ~8pm. It felt weird to be starting my run at the time I'm usually getting ready for bed.

This was my first track race since 2008, and first 10K on the track since 2004. It had been a long time since I had been in this type of environment. The rain had stopped and the weather was nice and cool - it was a perfect evening for racing.

The field was a little more than 20 guys, so when the gun went off there was some jostling, but I managed to avoid getting spiked and also managed to avoid jumping out too quick.I settled immediately into the rhythm I wanted - 72 second laps. First 3 miles (1600m splits) were 4:48.5, 4:47.0, 4:48.6 (14:24.1 at 4800m, and ~15:00-15:01 at 5K). Perfect.

The leaders were wayyyy out front, and I had positioned myself behind 2 guys in light blue singlets who were clearly working together to try and break 30 minutes. We were sort of the "chase" pack, although we weren't really chasing anyone. The blue guys went out a little faster than me, and it took 4-5 laps to catch up to them. Once I did, I sort of hung behind for the next 6-7 laps. Apparently they were not too happy that I had latched onto their group, and one of them said something to me about sharing the work, so I jumped out to the front at 5K and took over the pacing for a while. Next two splits were 4:49.3 and 4:50.7 (24:04 at 8K, a little slower than I wanted). The pace was just lapsing a tiny bit - 72.0s were becoming 72.5s, but those 0.5s add up!

5 laps to go - one of the blue guys is long gone off the back, the other one passes me and puts a gap on me. The lapping game is heating up now as well. I'm running in lane 2 passing the slower runners, and also being courteous enough to move out to lane 2 when I'm being passed by the faster guys. I'm starting to think sub 30 is out of the question. The sixth split was 4:50.4 (28:54.6 at 9600m). I mustered up what I had left and closed the last lap in 68.0. As I approaching the finish line I heard the guy calling out the times - 29:58, 29:59, 30:00, 30:01, and THEN I came through at that point and just said "D@MMIT!" With a smile on my face, of course. Heck, I can't really complain about running 30 flat for 10K when I've never broken 15 minutes in a 5K on the track.

Ahhhh so close, but no cigar. Final time was 30:03 and I came in 9th place (haven't seen official results yet). I gave it what I had. Obviously 29:59 would have been a much nicer number, but in terms of my fitness, its the same thing. I'm content for now. This is still a big jump for me, a PR by over a minute. I ran about what I expected tonight.

Racing on the track is different... its honest, its exposed, its a bit intimidating in some ways. There's nowhere to hide out there. If you slow down, everyone watching knows it. I love it - and I hope to continue to race more in these types of meets.

I cooled down for about 4 minutes, then went out for ice cream w/ Andrea and two of my friends who live in Portland. It was good to catch up with them, and we all had a good night. Almost on cue, the rain started pouring again once the track meet had ended for the night.

Its very late, so I'll wrap this up. A good race for me, even though 30 flat isn't "equivalent" to a sub 65 half-marathon, I believe I'm capable of that next weekend if I have a great race. I can hold pace pretty well when moving up from 5K/10K to the half.

Oh, and when you haven't worn superlight spikes for anything longer than 200m reps, running 25 laps in them will beat your feet up really good :-)

Looking forward to the rest of the weekend - running in Forest Park tomorrow morning, then off to the coast.

AM - 12.2 miles. Andrea and I ran in Forest Park on Leif Ericson Drive (a gravel road closed to traffic). It was pretty cool - like a rainforest back there.

PM - 4 miles. We ran 2.5 miles on the beach in Seaside, then I added on a little more when Andrea stopped. Fun running along the ocean while the waves were crashing.

I have pictures and stuff to share when we get back. Gotta catch up on UVM reports while on the place tomorrow night. Seems like from my quick glance that it was a rough day with the wind. Congrats to everyone who fought hard and soldiered on.