Trying to find a Race for June 2010

I am looking for a race to run in June after I complete the Millersville Mile next weekend.  There are several to choose among.

On Saturday June 5th, there are two local races.  One is in Hershey and the other in Harrisburg. I ran the Balloon Chaser 5K last year at the Hershey Medical Center.  The course is about one quarter uphill and another quarter down the same hill.  In other words, half the course is going up and down a steep hill. Commuting costs are minimal and the race entry fee is only $10, sans a T-shirt.  I believe there were over 250 runners for this event last year.

The 7th annual DUI Victims Memorial 10K run is run in Front Street in Harrisburg.   This is a smaller race with about 120 runners.. http://www.padui.org/special_events.htm   A ten kilometer race is typically more competitive because there is not a large base of newbie runners trying to run ten kilometers or 6.2 miles for the first time.  The 10K Run for the Cookies race in ran in February was the most competitive race I have run this year.

After reviewing the race results for the 2009 DUI Victims Memorial 10K run, it was evident this is a very competitive run. Over two-thirds of the male runners averaged less than an eight minute per mile pace for the 10K race. Only nine male runners out of the sixty-one in total averaged a pace of nine or more minutes per mile. There are few recreational runners in this race.  My current personal record for a 10K race is a paltry eight minutes and nineteen seconds per mile. (51:45)



I am leaning toward running the ten kilometer race to benchmark where I am now in terms my training for my August Beach to Beacon 10K race.   I would like to average seven minutes and fifty-five seconds per mile if I run the 10K race. (Translates to a 49:15 10K performance.)

There's a saying if you want to be the best you have to beat the best.  In this case I will be racing with the best in this area. In a nutshell, this race will be more of a personal challenge than the Balloon Chaser 5K in Hershey.


There is a new run in my hometown on June 26th.  It's called the Friends 5K and is sponsored by the Friends of Palmyra Area Recreation and Parks Commission.  I believe it is part of Palmyra's 250th anniversary 'Celebration of Pride' campaign this year.

Awesome Long Distance Run

Last Friday I decided to go on my seven and a half mile run around the perimeter of my hometown.  I usually run my 'long run' on Saturdays, but the forecast for Saturday was a day of rain.  (The rain never materialized.)

It was a beautiful day , 69 degrees and sunny. It was my birthday, having just turned 47 years old. I had read somewhere a tempo run should be run at a pace sustainable for an hour..  I did not run at a leisurely pace nor did I run at a very fast pace, such as a mile run or five kilometer pace.


I finished the run averaging an eight minute and four seconds pace per mile.  I ran at a brisk pace, but was not pushing myself to run hard. I felt very good throughout the run.  I usually tire precipitously somewhere within the run.

I have been using a training program created by master's runner extraordinaire Pete Magill for over three weeks. The technique drills I have been are embedded within a video on the web page

http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=17578

  I have noticed my training sessions have been much more sharp and productive since beginning the program. I noticed my 6.2 mile split (10K) during this run was 50 minutes and 14 seconds.  My current personal record for a 10K race, set just this year, is 51 minutes and 44 seconds.

It would be an awesome personal accomplishment if I could average 7 minutes and 45 seconds for the Beach to Beacon 10K race in Maine the beginning of August.  That translates to a 48 minute and 15 second 10K time.

Millersville Mile 2010 - Race Strategy

I am going to configure my GPS watch to display my split times at each quarter mile.  I need to run each quarter mile in under ninety seconds in order to finish the mile in under six minutes.

My game plan is to come out with a fast initial quarter mile.  I need to come in between 80 and 90 seconds for the first mile.  If I finish the first quarter mile faster than 80 seconds I will increase my risk for having no energy left for a fast finish.

I should be in the  first dozen or so racers at this point.  I anticipate several runners being approximately 50 to 75 yards ahead at this juncture.  These runners will finish the mile in under five minutes. I can not concern myself about keeping up with these runners, at least not this year.


Based upon my split for the first quarter mile, I will adjust my pace for the second quarter mile.  I want to conserve as much energy as possible for the last quarter mile. Mentally I will be settling down within the second quarter mile, everyone should be within their pace comfort zones at this stage. There is a fair amount of separation now within the runners among the field.

The third quarter mile is the set-up segment of this race. You are setting up your strategy for the final quarter mile.  At this point either you have your running mojo for the day or you do not.  You sense you will have a kick for the end of the race or you are on auto-pilot trying to sustain your current pace in an attempt to stave off a dozen runners passing you in the last fifty yards before the finish line.

The last quarter of a mile is the most exciting part of the race.  You are typically battling someone for position, you can see the finish line,  and the people lining the race route are cheering . It's been a long time since I have caught anyone at the end of a race.  I have had to outrun runners trying to pass myself in the last fifty yards of a race.

The last exciting component of the race is watching the clock tick off the seconds as you approach the finish line.  The official race clock typically has numbers some eight inches high making it very easy to see from a distance.  I have had several occasions where I was very pleased with what the clock was reading as I approached the finish line and pushed harder to get to the end and set a new personal record.

Next Up - Millersvile Mile Run

This race takes place on the Millersville University campus  They also have a kids fun run of a quarter mile. I will register my eldest son for this race. We have not raced together this year.  Another Kodak moment together in the making.

My training has become much more interesting due to incorporating a variety of workout types into my current training regimen.  I completed short hill repeats yesterday.  For this workout type you run 50-100 yards up a steep incline.  I did this six times with a two minute rest in between each uphill climb. I grew up on the north side of Palmyra.  There was a steep hill on North Chestnut Street I used to sled down  as a kid.  I use this hill as my training hill. This type of training allegedly will help you to run faster.

Tomorrow I will do an interval training regimen where I will run slightly faster than my 5k race pace for three minutes minutes and then jog at an easy pace for three minutes. I will do this a total of five times.


Later on in the week I will be doing technique drills as well as a long eight mile run.  I have reached a point where I know how much to push myself within my training before I  markedly increase the risk of injuring myself.

The Millersville Mile has to be a fast course because last year four people ran the mile in less than five minutes, with the winner coming in at 4:37.  Of the first six finishers last year, four of them were over 40 years old. I don't have any aspirations of medaling.

What I would like to do is finish under six minutes. I think I will be close, but I am feeling very good about my prospects of achieving this goal.

Basic Running Mechanics

Every runner's pace can be broken down into two basic components, a stride rate and a stride length.  Stride rate refers to how frequently your legs 'turnover' to get you through a specific distance.  The stride length is the amount of distance you cover with each stride.

The current theory regarding these two components of running mechanics is your stride rate does not change as you get older.  What does change is your stride length becomes progressively shorter.

The technique drills I have begun will hopefully increase my stride length.  My Garmin GPS watch has a companion  foot pod which I could wear on my sneaker to determine my turnover or cadence.  Using the mileage I have run generated by the GPS enabled  watch and the stride count generated by the foot pod I could calculate my average stride length.

The Garmin foot pod retails for about $100.  My family and I have more important items to spend $100 upon than a foot pod for daddy to calculate his stride length.  I'd love to borrow one for a day to determine if my stride length is two, three or four feet.  I typically run fastest at races.  Does my stride length increase at races or does my turnover increase, or both?

Technique Drills Recovery

I purposely did not try to complete too many repetitions of the various Pete Magill inspired technique drills.  I used a variety of muscles in my legs which I had not employed for any activities for  years.  Most of the techniques addressed my legs range of motion.   Because I warmed up by running a mile and a half, I was fortunate I did not pull any muscles.

I ran a mile to cool down after the technique drills. My leg muscles were so sore I turned in a mile cool down time in excess of nine minutes.

I am much more sore today than I had ever imagined from doing the technique drills.  I had planned on running today, but will instead dedicate the day to recovering from yesterday's drills. 


My next race is exactly a month away, on May 23rd.  It is a one mile run.  The fastest I have ever run a mile is six minutes and eight seconds, at the 1997 Smith Barney Mile in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  I have every intention of setting a new personal record for the one mile next month.

Running Technique Drills

I have been running for just over a year.  I was having issues with trying to keep running enjoyable.  How many times can you run the same route without becoming bored ?  My variety in running has been limited to street running and track running. 

There's a gentleman named Pete Magill who wrote an excellent article regarding training for five kilometer races within the April 2010 issue of Running Times. Within the article he touches upon technique drills.  Upon his website site, titled Younger Legs for Older Runners @ http://petemagill.blogspot.com/ he has an excellent video documenting nearly a dozen technique drills.


I decided to give a majority of them a try today at the local high  school track.  I was amazed at how many muscle groups I have not used in the course of my basic training methods to date.  None of Pete's drills are killers or exercises designed to raise your pain tolerance threshold.  Quite the opposite is true.  You  are to concentrate on form and fluidity as opposed to brute speed or strength. 

I am very excited over the prospect of developing my running skills to the extent I can make a quantum leap to the next level, the locally elite runner level. It will take a majority of this year, but I believe at the end of the year I wiill be a very competitive runner in my age band.