Shippensburg Fair - 31st Annual Distance Classic 5K

I would like one more opportunity to set a personal record (PR) for the five kilometer distance this year.  I finished calendar year 2009 with a 5K PR of 23 minutes and 11 seconds.  My 5K personal record for this year to date  is 21 minutes and 37 seconds.  If I were not able to improve upon this time this year I would be pleased with ending the year with this 5K PR time.

I am always perusing the internet for races in the area.  Only the more established and larger races send mailings to prospective runners.  The larger races use previous race entrant lists as the basis for their mailing lists. In most cases you have to seek your next racing adventure.

This race is unique because the course is a slight uphill climb for the first half of the race. You then turnaround and return on the same route. You are finishing the second half of the race on a grade that is downhill the entire way. Looking at an elevation chart for this route there appear to be no hills. Finishing a race on a downhill grade is very conducive to recording a personal record caliber time.

I typically review the prior year's results for a race I am considering. In this case I noticed the name of Ron Slozat in the 2009 Shippensburg Fair 5K results. I met Ron last year at the Cumberland Rails to Trail's Fall Down on the Trail 5K. I believe he mentioned he was a cross country coach at Shippensburg University. He is in excellent shape for a 60+ year old.  I confess. He was faster than I. His time for the 2009 Shippensburg 5K race was a full thirty seconds faster than his 2009 Fall Down on the Trail time. I set my 2009 5K personal record time at the Fall Down on the Trail race.

If I set a personal record this Saturday I will hang up my cleats for this season with respect to running 5K races.

The Shippensburg Fair 5K race also features a very low race day entry fee of $8, sans a T-shirt.

Mathematics & Running

I am a I mathematician by training. I spent many hours as a college student studying Laplace transforms, Fourier series analysis, differential equations, etc.  I can't say I have ever come remotely close as a professional to using any of the above mathematics.

To date, I have not played my personal math geek card.  It's not a popular card.  Cutting to the chase, the graph above is a representation of my last training run where I tried to run at a faster pace at the conclusion of each mile. I began the first mile at a pace of 534 seconds per mile (8:54) and finished mile six with a pace of 470 seconds per mile (7:50).

The horizontal purple line within the graph above represents my average pace for the entire run, eight minutes and twenty seconds. This equates to a five hundred seconds per mile pace.  The green line represents my actual pace for the entire run.

My pace slowed two seconds per mile within mile four due to a large hill. That's why the green line between miles three and four does not decrease.

The red triangular area represents the distance where I was running slower than my average pace while the green triangle represents the distance where i was running faster than my average pace.

For the Beach to Beacon 10K Race I want my average pace for the race to be seven minutes and thirty two seconds (452 seconds) in order to finish with a time less than forty-seven minutes

The 'takeaway' from this graph is the larger the red triangle (distance slower than average pace), the larger the green triangle (distance faster than the average pace)  has to be to compensate for the initial pace deficit.

Why don't I just simply run at a 7:32 minute pace for each mile during the race ?  I don't believe many runners exhibit a flat-line pace graph for any of their races. Less experienced and less disciplined runners such as myself have paces which slow over the course of a race. More experienced runners have paces which quicken over the course of a race.  They place a priority on a strong finish.

Their will be 6,500 people at the starting line for the B2B race. It may take me five minutes just to get to the starting line from my vantage point within the starting line gathering. It may also be a mile into the race before I will not be enveloped by a corral of runners. The silver lining in this cloud is I may be forced to start this race at a modest pace by virtue of the congestion at the onset of the race.

Math Geek addendum: To get a picture of what I need to accomplish to finish the Beach to Beacon 10K (6.2 miles) at an average pace of 452 seconds I would shift the entire graph down 48 seconds, from the current 500 second location. All that is required then is to subtract 48 seconds from each mile pace time above to obtain goal paces throughout the race.

For example, my first mile pace would then be 486 seconds (8:06) while the sixth mile pace would translate to 422 seconds (7:02).  The problem with this scenario is I am not going to finish the last mile at this pace unless the last mile is entirely downhill and I have a ten mile per hour wind at my back.(i.e. it's too fast of a pace)

I need to construct a B2B pace chart with triangles which are more flat. In other words I need to quicken my initial pace to allow for a more reasonable finishing pace.  The chart above contains a pace variance of  one minute and four seconds (8:54 - 7:50).  I would choose a pace variance closer to  twenty seconds.

And you thought I just run during a race ?

Training Re-Orientation

I am always searching for more efficient training methods.  Logging hours  upon hours of training miles simply does not fit into my life.  I want to get as much benefit from running for as little training as possible.

That being said, if I am testing my fitness level with five kilometer (3.1 miles) races, I need to be able to proficiently run this length. My Achilles heel for nearly every race I have run is I lack the discipline to begin the race at a moderate pace and consequently finish the race strong.

In the course of the next month I am going to heavily incorporate the training practice of running 'negative splits.' into my regimen  Running in general suffers from a marketing abyss and the person who coined this term most likely did s not possess a marketing lineage.  In essence, the term translates to running faster interval times as you progress through a run or race. How about the phrase 'stronger longers' ?  I confess, I am not marketing savvy either.

My quarter mile splits for the Miller's Mutual Mile in Harrisburg last Wednesday were  1:25 (one minute and twenty five seconds) , 1:35, 1:44 and 1:45, respectively.  My splits, or intervals, increased as the run progressed. (i.e. it took me longer to run each successive quarter mile)  A set of negative splits or intervals would look like 1:42, 1:39,:1:36, 1:32 .  This hypothetical set of splits would indicate I ran faster as the race progressed.  The only way to achieve this pattern is to pace yourself from the onset.  (Both sets of times add to equal  6:29 for the mile.)

More experienced runners exhibit a negative split format within their races and runs. I'll hearken back to the days when I was younger and heard a story (one of Aesop's fables) about the tortoise and the hare.  My interpretation of this story is a measured deliberate pace will be more effective than a full-bore assault from the onset, ala the hare.

I decided to try this negative split training method this past weekend.  In order to progressively run faster intervals, you must begin at a slower pace.  The notion I can run a faster by holding back at any point in the race is counter-intuitive to myself at the moment.  I feel as though by holding back in the beginning I am allowing seconds to slip away which can not be reclaimed.

I began the run very slowly, at a  pace on the order of ten minutes per mile.  For this six mile run I decided to increase my pace at the conclusion of each mile.  Because you are tiring as you are attempting to pick up the pace at the end of each mile, it is doubly difficult to accelerate your pace as the miles run accumulate.

I was able to run each successful mile faster than the previous, but it was extremely taxing during the last mile to run at my fastest pace of the entire run.  I also did not post a very fast time on the outing as a whole.  Oh well - I guess this is why this training method is regarded a character builder.

Beach to Beacon 10K in Maine

My next race is a ten kilometer (6.2 miles) run in Portland Maine.  It will be the largest run I have ever participated in with an estimated 6500 runners and over 10,000 spectators present.  Why Maine ?  My wife and I visited there last year and fell in love with the state's laid back lifestyle coupled with the beautiful coastline.  There is an abundance of outdoor activities available as the state consists of lakes and forests galore.

Dead Legs Prevail

The forecast for evening thunderstorms at the Millers Mutual mile in Harrisburg last evening never materialized.  The weather was very warm with temperatures in the mid to upper 80's.  I arrived at the YMCA on Front street around 5:30 pm to pickup my race packet and also changed into my running clothes within their locker room. I had to punch in a 4 digit security code on the door to enter the locker room. Packets were available from 4-6 pm.  My race was not scheduled to start until 7:45.  I had a long wait for the race to begin.

Almost as soon as I arrived I met Jarred and Bob Kulp, both alumni of Palmyra High School.  Bob and I are the same age while Jarred is four years younger.Jarred was accompanied by his daughter who was also running the mile. 

I also talked with Cindy Neely and her sister - both of whom also are Palmyra grads.  Cindy received a kidney transplant a couple of years She competes in biking races internationally in competitions for transplant recipients.  After discussing my plight with her, she recommended taking six months off from running in order to allow my kidneys to heal.

My aged 45-49 male and female race began like clockwork at 7:45pm.  Once again I had a decent first quarter mile split and then faltered in the last half mile.  I ran a 6:29 mile.  Because my expectations were high I was disappointed with my time.  However, I have to thank the 'man upstairs' for allowing me to run this fast at my age.

I wore a heart rate monitor for this race in order to compare my heart rate from last year's race to this year's race. The device is mounted on an elastic band you wear around your chest that transmits a signal to my Garmin GPS watch for real time recording. My maximum heart rate last year was 171 beats per minute   At this year's race my max heart rate increased to 204 beats per minute

Using a conventional formula, a person's max heart rate is estimated to be 220 - your age.  My max heart rate is calculated to be 173 beats per minute. I am not totally certain, but it appears having a higher maximum heart rate suggests a more youthful and stronger heart.  Using the formula as a basis, younger people have higher maximum heart rates.

It appears I may have a younger healthy heart but older less healthy kidneys.

Excerpted from  http://www.mayoclinic.com/ ....

For vigorous exercise, aim for a target heart rate of 70 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate (MHR). Your MHR (roughly calculated as 220 minus your age) is the upper limit of what your cardiovascular system can handle during physical activity.

These numbers are estimates that provide an average value. Many people have a higher or lower MHR, sometimes by as much as 15 to 20 beats per minute. Disagreement exists on how to most accurately estimate your MHR and what percentage range to target.

Addendum: My official MMM time was recorded as 6:24 per the official site URL http://www.harrisburgmile.com/results.htm

Running Re-Evaluation

Occasionally I need to step back and  evaluate my perspective toward running in general.  I have become very dedicated toward training while maintaining a balance with my work and family life. 

At a recent appointment with my primary care physician,  she recommended I cease running because of my poor kidney functioning.  However, just two weeks ago I had seen a nephrologist (kidney doctor) and he did not recommend eliminating running from my activities.  What is not in dispute is my kidneys are functioning on a level of someone who is in their 60's.

At this point, I would not have a problem with relinquishing very long runs, such as anything over five miles.  However, I can't come to grips with not running at all.  The cruel irony is I have worked hard to become fit and now am confronted with real physical limitations being placed upon myself by my body.

In any event, I am fully rested and ready for the mile race on Front street in Harrisburg today. In contrast to some other races I have run in Harrisburg this year, this race is run on Front street itself. A carnival atmosphere pervades this event as their are kid-centric activities, a local radio station playing music, spectators and vendors lining the street.

Last year my heat of aged 45-49 men and women started at 7:45 pm.  While this is later than I typically run, it may be beneficial if the temperature and humidity are less of factors at this time.

Case of Dead Legs

I have not had very good workouts leading up to this one mile race on Wednesday in Harrisburg.  I keep track of my workouts and the times it requires me to complete them .  I ran 3/4 of a mile repeats on Sunday morning and was not able to match the times I had posted two weeks ago.

If you can imagine having a pogo stick without the spring mechanism present to enable bouncing about, then you have an idea of how my legs have been functioning recently.  I do not have the spring or bounce I have had for the majority of the summer.

In order to combat this condition I have only run once in the last week. It's my hope this extended recovery time will serve to help in having any kind of energy reserves for the last quarter mile of the mile race. I will get through the first quarter mile of the race on adrenaline only.

I have put a fair amount of unnecessary pressure upon myself to set a new personal record by breaking my current 5:57 mark. While their are indications I have a very good chance of setting a new mark, there are also indications I may have a tough time equaling the mark. I am sure once I get near the starting line pre-race I will be very eager to prove I can set a new personal record.

Over Training

My training today required running intermediate hill repeats.  I run at a very brisk pace up a steep hill (a 9% grade at the Palmyra Sportsmen's club) for one minute and then rest for two minutes. I repeat this cycle a total of six times. My legs were so weak on the first ascent I could barely run thirty seconds without stopping to rest.

I decided to finish the entire workout. It may have been more to my benefit to quit the workout and wait another day in an effort to have my leg muscles more fully recover from previous training sessions.

I had expected to reach my previous mark from my last intermediate hill repeat effort on my one minute treks up this hill but was unable to do so. 

I don't think anyone purposely attempts to over-train.  You have to listen to what your body is telling you on each training outing.  Today my body spoke very clearly. I need some rest before I engage in another training session. I am going to take Thursday, Friday and Saturday off in an effort to reclaim some power in my legs.

Sunday I will do 3/4 mile repeat sprints and then I will take Monday and Tuesday off and rest before the Millers Mutual Mile race in Harrisburg on Wednesday.   I have trained sufficiently for this race.  I need to rest and recover some energy this week to be fully prepared to have a decent race next Wednesday.

Surpassed 1000 Miles of Running

I began running to get into shape in February of 2009.  In the roughly year and a half since then I have run over 1000 miles between racing and training. In terms of regulating a healthy body weight, running has been an unmitigated success. In terms of helping to regulate my blood pressure, the results have not been as favorable.

If you read the running magazines Runner's World and Running Tines you'll see the pages littered with people who run hundreds of miles a month within their training regimen.  Even if I had the time to log several hundred miles a month, I don't believe my body could handle the stresses of such an intense program.

I am very eagerly awaiting the one mile run in Harrisburg next week. If I finish in the top 12 for my age bracket and under six minutes per mile it will vindicate my rigorous training regimen. Tomorrow morning my training will consist of running up a 9% grade hill about 150 yards in length six times in an effort to build strength in my legs. Stronger legs are supposed to translate into faster times.

Millers Mutual Mile Run Entry

I mailed my entry for this race today.  When race time rolls around  on July 21st I will have completed three weeks of training since my last race.  I will have run for about ten or eleven hours and between eighty and ninety miles during the three weeks.

I have set a lofty goal of running a 5:45 ( five minutes and  forty-five seconds) race which should put me in the top twelve for this race.  I am genetically predisposed for the shorter distances.  I would like to run a quarter mile race somewhere, sometime.  They only place I have ever seen races of this distance are indoors in the Washington D.C area in the winter.

My effort of 5:57 for the mile was in late May.  I have trained for two solid months to become faster.  I need to remember to warm up extensively before this run. I don't want to pull up mid-way through the race.

I hope my family will attend this race.  Last year they had kid friendly bounce houses and face painting at this event.  They also had a Michelob beer tent for the runners.

Barring a substantial migration of runners aged 44 last year into my 45-49 bracket this year, I have an excellent chance of finishing in the top 12.

Here are the results of the 2009 Miller Mutual Mile for my age band.

Men 45 - 49 

15 1 John Stoudt, 46, Lancaster, PA 5:03
31 2 Dennis West, 48, Mt. Gilead, OH 5:18
40 3 Ben Lettzer, 48, Carlisle, PA 5:26
49 4 Eric Darr, 45, Mechanicsburg, PA 5:32
62 5 Conrad Zecher, 48, Kempton, PA 5:38
74 6 Steve Koons, 46, Hummelstown, PA 5:44
78 7 Philip Mitzkavich, 49, Mount Joy, PA 5:45
93 8 Tim Foreman, 45, Hummelstown, PA 5:52
96 9 Rich Sandala, 47, Venetta, PA 5:53
118 10 Gary Frenette, 47, Carlisle, PA 6:01
128 11 Gary Skeen, 47, Perry, GA 6:03
138 12 Charlie Mann, 47, Mechanicsburg, PA 6:08
148 13 Jim Leslie, 46, Camp Hill, PA 6:11
153 14 Tom Peightel, 46, Lemoyne, PA 6:12
179 15 Steven Kuniski, 48, Harrisburg, PA 6:19
180 16 Tom Luckenbill, 49, Harrisburg, PA 6:19
189 17 Joseph Aswine, 46, Elizabethtown, PA 6:21
205 18 Scott Scott, 47, Carlisle, PA 6:26
222 19 Alan Flenner, 45, Camp Hill, PA 6:30
235 20 Jim Price, 49, Mechanicsburg, PA 6:35
267 21 Tom Robel, 47, Harrisburg, PA 6:44
282 22 Paul Nesmith, 49, Camp Hill, PA 6:47
291 23 Steve Smith, 45, Middletown, PA 6:49
303 24 David Resek, 46, Harrisburg, PA 6:51
315 25 Jeff Evans, 46, Palmyra, PA 6:54
329 26 Perry Ligon, 48, Harrisburg, PA 6:57
330 27 Jeff Macwilliams, 46, Hummelstown, PA 6:57
347 28 Greg Bicher, 46, Harrisburg, PA 7:02
374 29 Mark Stevens, 45, Harrisburg, PA 7:11
380 30 Wayne Fleming, 47, Oberlin, PA 7:12
387 31 Kevin Kincaid, 46, Camp Hill, PA 7:13
414 32 Kevin Sheets, 48, Harrisburg, PA 7:23
419 33 Jeff Bridi, 48, Palmyra, PA 7:24
426 34 Carl Richardson, 45, Mount Joy, PA 7:28
433 35 Michael Percherke, 48, Enola, PA 7:31
440 36 Dave Wilson, 47, Harrisburg, PA 7:32
475 37 Bradely Bechtel, 46, Harrisburg, PA 7:48
632 38 Kenneth Dyer, 45, Elizabethtown, PA 9:46

Humidity Rears Its Ugly Head

I have begun the last two days around 5:30 in the morning. I have eaten breakfast and mustered enough motivation to be out the door by 6:00 am.   Each day I ran about 10 kilometers or about 6.2 miles.   The reason I am running this early is to avoid the 90-100 degree temperatures which exist for the remainder of the day.

For each run, the temperature was about 73 degrees.  The marked difference between yesterday's run and today's run was the humidity level.  They were much higher today. At the four mile mark on today's run I was overcome by a sense of light-headedness combined with a precipitously decline in my energy level.   I was nearly reduced to walking the last two miles, but I was able to finish the run at a much slower pace to facilitate self-preservation.

My next two races are a one mile run in two weeks and a six mile run in four weeks.  I am not worried about altering my race preparation for the mile run, but I may have to scale back my performance expectations with regard to the six mile race in early August.

The August 10K  race is scheduled to begin at 8:00 am.  The factor most critical to whether I attempt to achieve a new personal 10K record will be the humidity level or dew point.  I have found if the dew point (temperature) exceeds 65, then running becomes extremely laborious because of difficulties I encounter with breathing.  I will shift my focus to enjoying the run at a relatively leisurely pace if the weather conditions are not conducive for a fast outing.


excerpted from http://www.weatherquestions.com/What_is_dewpoint_temperature.htm.

The dewpoint temperature is the temperature at which the air can no longer hold all of its water vapor, and some of the water vapor must condense into liquid water. At 100% relative humidity, the dewpoint temperature and real temperature are the same, and clouds or fog can begin to form. While relative humidity is a relative measure of how humid it is, the dewpoint temperature is an absolute measure of how much water vapor is in the air (how humid it is). In very warm, humid conditions, the dewpoint temperature can reach 75 to 77 degrees F, but rarely exceeds 80 degrees.

Interesting facts:

SOUPY AIR: When the dewpoint approaches 75 degrees F, most people can "feel" the thickness of the air as they breathe, since the water vapor content is so high (about 20 grams of water vapor per kilogram of dry air, or 2% of the air's mass).

Kidney Problems Resurface

I have suffered from kidney stones for many years.  Knock on wood, I have not had a bout for nearly a year.  I had an appointment with a nephrologist (kidney doctor) yesterday and he began to talk about kidney dialysis and kidney transplants with me.  After he totally threw my world in a tailspin, he relayed my kidneys are working at a level of about 45-60 % of their prescribed functionality.  The basis for his assessment was in a measure of creatinine levels in my blood.  (see info below)

I asked if I needed to alter my running in any fashion to compensate for my faltering kidneys and was told I did not.

I was very dejected yesterday because I will need to be pharmaceutically dependent for my remaining years to maintain good health.  Running will not erase or eradicate my kidney damage.  The doctor stated I was in Stage 3 of kidney malfunction on a widely used scale of one to five, with five being the worst.

Excerpted from http://www.yourkidneys.com

When your chronic kidney disease progresses to Stage 4, you should see a nephrologist (kidney doctor). This is also the time when your health care team can talk to you about dialysis and/or a kidney transplant.

I remain astonished at how quickly and radically my perception of my own health has changed.   Nevertheless, I will keep on running.


Excerpted from http://www.medicinenet.com/creatinine_blood_test/article.htm

What is creatinine?

Creatinine is a chemical waste molecule that is generated from muscle metabolism. Creatinine is produced from creatine, a molecule of major importance for energy production in muscles. Approximately 2% of the body's creatine is converted to creatinine every day. Creatinine is transported through the bloodstream to the kidneys. The kidneys filter out most of the creatinine and dispose of it in the urine.
Because the muscle mass in the body is relatively constant from day to day, the creatinine level in the blood normally remains essentially unchanged on a daily basis.

Why is it important to check blood creatinine levels?

The kidneys maintain the blood creatinine in a normal range. Creatinine has been found to be a fairly reliable indicator of kidney function.
As the kidneys become impaired for any reason, the creatinine level in the blood will rise due to poor clearance by the kidneys. Abnormally high levels of creatinine thus warn of possible malfunction or failure of the kidneys. It is for this reason that standard blood tests routinely check the amount of creatinine in the blood. A more precise measure of the kidney function can be estimated by calculating how much creatinine is cleared from the body by the kidneys and it is referred to creatinine clearance.

Dawg Days of Summer Training

The temperatures this week are being forecasted to hover near the 100 degree level. As a young adult with a sense of immortality it was not uncommon for myself to run in the midst of an afternoon on days with the temperatures this high. It was also not uncommon to be totally ignorant of hydration concerns at the time.

Fast forward a couple of decades and I possess no sense of immortality. The last thing I want to do is succumb to dehydration/heat exhaustion along a rural county road in the middle of a hot and humid summer afternoon.  The coolest part of the day by far is in the early morning hours.

I am by nature an early morning person.  However, I like to relax early in the morning.  Getting up at 5:30 am to run at 6:00 am is not generally a very fun thing to do.  If I am to train with any kind of intensity for the Miller's Mutual Mile Run on Wednesday July 21st, I need to get out and train most every day until then.  I was able to get up this morning and run 3/4 mile repeats ( three sets of three laps around the track) before it got warm.

I ran these repeats each at about an average of a 6:35 (six minute and thirty five second) pace.  I am not sure how I am going to get my pace down to 5:45 for the race, but I am going to try.  Never thought I see the day when a 6:35 / mile pace was not fast enough for myself.



"Dog Days" (Latin: diēs caniculārēs) are the hottest, most sultry days of summer. In the northern hemisphere, they usually fall between early July and early September. In the southern hemisphere they are usually between January and early March. The actual dates vary greatly from region to region, depending on latitude and climate. Dog Days can also define a time period or event that is very hot or stagnant, or marked by dull lack of progress. The name comes from the ancient belief that Sirius, also called the Dog Star, was somehow responsible for the hot weather.