Ukrops Monument Avenue 10K pre-race sentiments

In a couple of days the family and I will be traveling to southern Virginia for this race.  It has been several months since our family has gone on a trip.  We typically commute eight hours to Maine for our family trips.  The four hour commute to Virginia should be well received by our kids.

I fully expect the starting corrals should alleviate congestion on the roads containing 40,000 runners. In order to qualify for a corral you had to submit a link to race results from a previous 10K race.  I used my 46:55 at the 2010 Beach to Beacon 10K in order to qualify for the third or "C" corral.  Each corral is comprised of 1500 runners. I will be among the first 2250 runners with some 37,000+ runners behind me.

I feel I am poised to set a personal record for ten kilometers.  I am slightly concerned about the temperatures being cold for race time. It looks like race start temps may be in the low 40's.  This could have an adverse impact on race times.  Another concern is there is a 30 percent chance or rain on Saturday.

I enjoy being among the crowds for big races.  Everyone shares a common bond for running.  And many people have motivational stories behind the running avocation.  This race will be especially interesting because there is an organizer sponsored contest for costumed runners.  I almost forgot to mention there will be many bands playing along the course, diving the whole event a carnival atmosphere.

I've set an ambitious goal of running a sub 45 minute 10K. That would represent a two minute improvement in my time.  I would venture a guess I will finish in 45:40 at the 2011 Ukrops Monument Ave 10K race.

Elizabethtown's Frozen Foot 5K results

UPDATE: May 9th (two months later) and the results are not posted for this race.  You would think college students would be proficient at posting material to the web.  There's a $100 award for breaking the course record.  The organizer's should use the $100 and pay a student to enter the results on the web.

This past Sunday, the last of the annual three part Frozen Foot series 5K races was held at the Elizabethtown college.  This race was held at 2:00 pm.  The weather for this race was sunny and 50 degrees with a very slight wind.

I wanted to use this race as a test for how effective my training has been over the winter. I have to admit I was somewhat reluctant to run this race for fear of a poor performance. I have run about 200 miles of training since my last race.  You want to believe there's a correlation between the quality of your training and the results you achieve in races.

This race was also going to be a barometer for my upcoming 10K race in Richmond, Virginia.  The Ukrops Monument Avenue 10 K is only two weeks away.  Will I have the stamina to turn in a sub 45 minute 10K?

It's a very short commute to Elizabethtown for me - about thirty minutes.  I used my old Garmin automotive GPS to get me to the college.  Unfortunately the GPS took me to one street south of where I needed to be.  Normally this is not an issue, but I had arrived at 1:40pm for this race and only had twenty minutes to prepare for the start. I then parked about 300 yards away from the registration building in order to avoid driving around a parking lot several times searching for an open space.

After paying the walk up or late registration fee of $30 (w/out a shirt) I began my preparations for the race.  I met my fellow Palmyra run-bud Jarrod Kulp at the starting line.  Jarrod is a couple of years younger than I.  I graduated high school with his older brother Robert.

As the race was to begin I was discussing the course layout with Jarrod when another gentleman named Nathan Putt also confirmed the course was a very fair one.  I introduced Jarrod and I to Nathan after the race.  I believe Jarrod and Nathan had played together in church sport leagues of some sort before.  Turns out Nathan is a barn-burner who consistently turns in sub twenty minute five kilometer performances and is from the Middletown area.

There appeared to be nearly 500 hundred participants on hand at the starting line.  I began to become slightly concerned about jockeying for position and/or being tripped in the course of the initial starting free-for-all. Fortunately, the concerns were not merited.

As it turns out, the race was on a very fair course, as advertised.  There was a hill at the end of the first mile which resulted in myself changing to a more conservative race pace for fear of another hill - which I may or may not have been prepared to tackle. The only knock on this course would be their are a fair number of turns required to complete the course.

I finished this 5K race in a time of  22:39.  I felt I had run a good race, i.e., I did not crash and burn at the end of the race. My mile splits were 7:08,7:37, and 7:11.  I believe my training is yielding dividends from an endurance perspective - I could have run another 5K after the race, albeit at a slower speed.  That would have be unheard of last year.

I noticed the race bibs for the series runners were the twenty nine cent, plain jane, number only format.  In today's day and age of computerized graphics printing, there's no excuse for the el-cheapo race bibs.  Many runners save their bibs and proudly display them at work or home.  Race bibs in general are void of artistic merit- I am not sure why.

I believe I have a very good chance of breaking 45 minutes for the Ukrops Monument Ave 10K in two weeks.  Hopefully the weather will be slightly warmer and my adrenaline rushing from the runners and crowds of over 50,000 people will propel myself to a new ten kilometer personal record.

Chambersburg Half Marathon results

For the majority of the week preceding this run I was very concerned about the weather for this race.  Being mid-March we could have been running this race in weather spanning from snow to sunshine.  I had not anticipated my own health deteriorating.  After contending with my sons' colds, flus and croup over the last several weeks, I finally succumbed to the flu Friday morning.

I awoke at 5:00 am on Saturday morning with a lingering bout of the sniffles and a cough.  My situation was not acute enough to warrant skipping the race.  I have not run competitively for four months and was very anxious to run a race.  Because I was ill, I had slept the entire evening before and did not pack my gear the night prior.  I did very well packing my gear at 5:00 am for this race.  I packed several potential race time outfits and a complete outfit for after the race.  I packed several race time outfits because I was not sure how windy the morning would be.  I did not want to be drenched in perspiration and have the cold winds blow through my clothing and make the outing fitting for a polar bear. I packed an outfit for after the race because I would be both foul smelling and drenched with perspiration.

The drive to Chambersburg requires little more than an hour for me and most of the commute is on a major highway.  I left my house about 6:00am and stopped at a Giant food store for some pre-race food such as orange juice, bananas, a PowerBar energy bar, etc.  The temperature at 6:00am was 39 degrees, which at the time was promising.  I had anticipated the temperature rising several degrees until the 8:30am race time. Unfortunately, the temperature did not rise due to a very cool breeze which kicked up about a half hour before race time and persisted throughout much of the race.

This race was held at the Chambersburg middle school. Using the condition of the men's room as a barometer, the school is in need of funds for refurbishment.  Similar to our middle school in Palmyra, the building is past its prime. I noticed the walls were plastered with signs to the effect of "Believe in Yourself" and "You Can Do It".  This is in contrast to the "Go Cougars" pep rally centric signs I can remember adorning our high school walls back in my day.

Parking accommodations were very good, or at least for someone who arrived an hour early for the race.  The lot was very full once the race began.

I ran a similar race in a rustic farmland setting in July of 2009 in Ephrata. It was called the Freshburst Five Miler and was sponsored by the local Johnson & Johnson plant.  It was one of the most enjoyable races I have run because of the fresh country air and peaceful rural landscapes.  I was looking forward to this run as the course was located in a very similar rural setting.

The registration for the race was slightly congested.  It appeared a cafeteria or gymnasium was being used for registration.  Instead of locating the registration tables at the rear of the room to allow for a long line to span from the front receiving door to the tables, the tables were placed at the front of the room near the door.  This resulted in a very long line outside of the receiving door well into the hallway.  This was not a major downer in any way.  I met a gentleman named Steve who appeared to be in his 50's while waiting in line.  We swapped  stories regarding how we started running until we arrived at the registration table.

I had about a half hour before the 8:30 am race time to determine what I was going to wear for the race. I am not sure why, but the temperature was not much warmer than two hours earlier and a stiff breeze was present.
I decided to don my shorts, long sleeve technical shirt, and a hat and then jog around the parking lot to get an indication for how well I would be able to withstand the relatively cool temperature.  I was cold with the wind.

I was imagining someone throwing a bucket of water upon on me and then running thirteen miles.  I am drenched with perspiration after a race.  I decided I would have to contend with hypothermia if I ran without a jacket. I decided to opt for long running pants and a jacket for this race.  After all, I was running this race strictly for fun as a long distance workout for my upcoming Ukrops Monument Avenue 10K race in Virginia.

In the time leading up to a race you see runners with all kinds of gear, hair, attitudes, etc.  I had the occasion for this race to be parked next to a gentleman who apparently has issues with nipple chaffing.  As he stood behind his car bare-chested in the 40 degree weather, he proceeded to place square duct-tape adhesive patches over his nipples.  Add one more use for multi-purposed duct tape.

The race went off without a hitch.  I knew I had to conserve energy for very large hills at around miles three and ten.  I had possessed no other strategy. I was merely on a fun run with no predetermined goals, split times or expectations in general.

I breezed through the first six miles, began to falter in the seventh mile, and completely bonked in the eight mile.  I would like to attribute my poor performance to both having the flu and a course which was tougher than I had anticipated.  For a newbie half marathoner like myself, this was not a venue for a good first time experience.

The hills were omni-present. I don't mind hills in my training, because they build your muscles and a lot of character.  When you run a half marathon, no one asks you about the difficulty of the course.  This course was not easy.  If you are a seasoned half marathon and want a course (and conditions) to test your mettle, then this is the course for you.  I was eaten alive by this course.

There was a photographer taking pictures at the beginning of the run and at the end of the run.  For all I know, it was the same spot on this out and back course. I was straddling a delirious state at the end of the race.   In any event, I would love to compare my fresh faced early picture at the beginning of the race versus my dogged tired picture at the end of the race. I hope the pictures are affordable.

I finished a couple seconds over 2 hours and 5 minutes.   My post race sentiments were a mixed bag.  I was glad I had the drive to finish this race.  I was disappointed because I am arriving at the realization  long distance running is not a forte of mine. I finished 226th out of 323 runners.  I am most proficient at the shorter distances of one mile and five kilometers (3.1 miles).  I feel as though I am potentially  throwing in the towel with regard to pursuing half marathons and marathons, but I have to look at my historical track record and accept I am not very good at running long.

I admire those who can run long distances and need to learn to not feel deficient in any way because I can't run long.  As the phrase goes, "You gotta use what your mama gave ya."  I don't have long running genes.

Chambersburg Half Marathon preparations

The 32nd annual Chambersburg Half Marathon will be run this Saturday March 12th at 8:30 am.  As race day approaches I am asking myself  "Why did I sign up for this race ?'  This is a very long distance for my current running skill level.  I was exhausted after my recent twelve mile training run on a relatively flat set of roads.

I will be running this race to serve as a baseline fitness test to use as a barometer for measuring my running improvement in the future.  I have to be extremely conservative for this race as this distance is on the upper bounds of my current fitness level.  The course is a tough one as their website makes mention of several challenging hills.

The results from the last eleven years of this race are posted on the website http://www.chambersburghalf.org/results.aspx.

Using the results from 2009 (the race in 2010 was plagued by rain and high winds) over 80% of the field finished in times with a pace faster than ten minutes per mile.  You could make an argument that runners whose pace is slower than ten minutes per mile are recreational runners.  This race field will contain a larger portion of seasoned veteran runners than normal.  This race should have about three hundred entrants - barring inclement race day weather.

The picture above is from the photography company named U.S. Candids and was shot at the 2010 race.  Because the race will most likely begin (at 8:30 am) with temperatures in the mid 30's and potentially end with temps in the low 40's, it will be difficult finding the appropriate level of attire to maintain a manageable comfort level throughout the race.  Notice in the picture above there is a runner wearing a sleeveless shirt and shorts and in contrast there are runners wearing long pants, coats, and hats.

A critical factor in determining what I will wear Saturday will be the presence, or lack of, wind.  If there is any wind present I will wear a running windbreaker. As anyone who has run in the cold with a prevailing wind can attest to, the combination of a sweat laden top and a cold wind sends a debilitating (and demoralizing) chill throughout your body.  I am not sure if the weather forecast for this Saturday morning will have any mention of the estimated wind speeds.

I am not at all concerned about my finishing time for this race but would expect to finish between the 2 hour and 2 hour and 5 minute mark.  This race will serve as my long training run for this week.

February 2011 Review

I have cataloged my training runs since May of 2009 using both the Garmin Connect and the Running Ahead web sites. At the end of every month I like to compare my set of training runs for the month to the year's prior training runs.

In February of 2010 I ran eleven times for a total of sixty-four miles.  This year I was only able to run nine times for a total of fifty-five miles in the month of February.  We had a very cold spell during the second week of February this year which resulted in losing nearly a week of training.  One major difference between February 2010 and 2011 is I worked out ten times this February, albeit using a Nintendo Wii fitness game by EA Sports called Active 2. Overall, I am much more fit this year.

It's my hope my training is more focused this year.  By focused I am referring to the types of the running used to train such as interval training, threshold training and long distance running.  I had purchased the Jack Daniels Running Formula book with the hopes of following a prescribed regimen religiously.  I have not been able to following the training workout by workout.

One major accomplishment during February 2011 was a twelve mile training run.  This was the longest training run I have ever completed.  Although as is so often with my long runs, I had a problems with my kidneys again.

I have about four weeks until I run the Ukrops Monument Avenue 10K.  I have been training diligently for this race, but have not by any means over-trained during this past month.

Chambersburg Half Marathon

The 32nd running of the Chambersburg Pa Half Marathon will be held on Saturday March 12th.  For those of you who are not familiar with running, a half marathon translates into 13.1 miles.  I registered for this race today.  I have decided to use this race as a training session, i.e., a comfortable, easy paced long distance run.  This race is very affordable at $40 per entrant and finisher's medals will be awarded.

I have every intention on going into this race as a personal fun run.  I am not going to push to hit any specific finishing time.  Instead I am going to run based on how well I feel as I progress through the race.  One concern I have is which pair of shoes to wear for this race.  I like to wear lighter shoes for races, but for a race of this distance I may need to don heavier and more supportive training shoes.  I will most likely be running for nearly two consecutive hours to finish this race.

The course contains some formidable hills which should serve to build leg strength.  I'll need to be cognizant of fluid replenishment throughout the run. Hydrating adequately prior to a run is an artful endeavor.  Hydrate too much and you'll need to make a port-a-potty stop during the race. For this race, a bathroom break would not be critical because I am not running for time.

Last year a business named US Candids took pictures at this race.  It appears last year's race was both cold and wet after viewing the pictures on their website. I believe the same business will  be on hand this year again.

I enjoy running within a large group.  There is some type of energy I feed off of during these runs.  It's been several months since I have run a race and I am looking forward to toeing up to the starting line soon in Chambersburg.

Taste of Spring

Last Thursday and Friday we experienced temperatures in the upper 60's. I had an all day training class at work on Friday. I decided to leave work early on Thursday and go for a run.

Since I had a window of several hours available for this run, I decided to do a long run.  My last effort at a long run the weekend prior failed miserably as I had to abort the run after about three miles due to inexplicably premature and excessive fatigue.

Running is not an easy endeavor, but when you are in decent shape and the weather is comfortable, a run can be exhilarating. My Thursday long run was an exhilarating run.   I completed ten miles and still had some energy left in the tank.  I even ran the ten miles at a decent clip.

I keep track of my run pace and distance using my Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS watch.  My winter runs are always much slower than my spring and fall runs.  I believe I have trained fairly hard this winter although you would be hard pressed to tell from the paces and times I have been logging.  My successful ten mile run suggests I am running longer more effectively.

I have intentions of running a marathon again but I feel I am still two years away from being able to run twenty six miles with any level of competitiveness.  Two years from now would place us in the year 2013, which coincidentally would mark my 50th year on God's green earth.