2012 GREAT PUMPKIN RUN 10K RACE REPORT

Today's jaunt through the park.

Today I woke up at 6:40am to truck my ass down to Corvallis for another race. It was the 10k Great Pumpkin Run, something I signed up for about a month ago, feeling a lack of races and something to train for. And while my lack of training has been documented, I was still happy to just have a race. Races are fun! Except during the race, that sucks, the actual running part.

Anyways, I had a Tall Skinny Vanilla Latte and a glazed old fashioned before the race. The breakfast of champions! And also a magical combination that tends to result in good times. And apparently sharp stomach pains today, but nothing too bad.

We started at the Benton County Fairgrounds and had to dodge some horse poop at the start. Oh Corvallis. Anyways, out to 53rd we went, south for just a little bit and then we turned up a bike path and run along that. It was really pretty, if I were a runner when I was in Corvallis that would have been my bitch because I lived right nearby. Anyways, eventually we hit a country road and the 10Kers turned north to do an out and back.

Pre-race (I did NOT look this good after)

At this point I was definitely breathing heavy and not having a great time. I shot out of the gate pretty good but I could tell I just didn't have as much in the tank as I would have liked. The whole thing was a giant struggle but I set a pace and tried to keep to it. My legs felt a little "worn" and I think they were still recovering from slant shoes and my run on Friday. My breathing was pretty labored too... I don't train much at this pace at all, so I was sucking wind.

Despite the coffee and doughnut I didn't have to poop or pee or anything. I did get a couple of pretty bad stomach cramps but they passed quickly and didn't really pop up in the 2nd half of the race. The turn around seemed like it took FOREVER to get there but finally I reached it. It was fun to run back and see all the people behind me. It put a pep in my step for a little bit but eventually wore off and I went back to hating life.

I had waves of "this isn't so bad" during this race where I would feel really good for like 15 seconds. I would start to think of sprinting the last half mile and shit... quickly though my body would resume with reality. Anybody else have this? Also the course was pretty flat, a few tiny rolling hills to keep things interesting but very manageable.

The last mile or so had two features. One, lots of slow ass 5k walkers in my way. Really annoying because they weren't getting out of the way and there was live traffic. At one point I had to jog slowly behind a group waiting for a car to pass then dart ahead on the road. Reminded me of dodging the 5k people at the Rum Run.

Second, people were passing me up. I figured my pace really dropped and I felt like it did. I was running on empty. I probably had about six to eight people blow by me. Not a good feeling. It turns out I was keeping a pretty steady pace though, so they must have just been saving some energy in the tank. I did not have that energy.

Lib at the finish line!

The finish line took FOREVER to get there. That last mile was torture. At the mile five marker there was a guy reading off times and I could tell I had a chance at a record if I went really fast. I didn't really have it in me to sprint though, so I would just keep my pace and continue to charge ahead.

Anyways, I pulled a Libbie by JUST missing out on a certain time. 47:43, thirteen seconds off a record. I let out a big "FUCK!" as I rounded the corner and saw the clock. I knew I couldn't get there in time. Family event you say? Oh well.

I finished, grabbed a water, then collapsed in the grass and eventually found the strength to watch Libbie finish.  My body hated me and the only other time I felt worse was after the half marathon. So despite the lack of training, I am still posting good times. Imagine if I trained properly!

Official Time: 47:43.8, 7:41/mile. 21/120 overall. 3rd place males 20-29.


Mile 1: 7:19
Mile 2: 7:31
Mile 3: 7:49
Mile 4: 7:47
Mile 5: 7:33
Mile 6: 7:48
Final .22: 1:47 (7:35/mi extrapolated)

SORENESS & RACE PREVIEW

So, since the run where I pulled up early I mentioned in my last blog post, I haven't run much. I did one 5k a week later and it wasn't very fast. I was just sore and running didn't seem to help.

Looking back, I feel like a total idiot for not knowing why. Anyways, I ran group this Monday but was sore afterward. Most the soreness was in my hamstring area, but more low and to the knee. Like a tendon or something. Felt like someone smashed me in the back of the leg with a club. Anyways, the soreness kept lingering and I would rest up to the point where I could run again, but then after I'd be sore!

Well, I figured out what it was. Look at my fucking shoe:

Yah think that might have fucked with my stride a little? No wonder I was so fucking sore, I was basically running on a slant. I had noticed the shoes deteriorating but they must have really gotten bad in the last few weeks. My legs are hurting just looking at this picture right now!

Anyways, that was my left shoe and my left side was always way more sore than the right. My right shoe is also really worn down but not quite as bad. So it all makes sense. I do pronate, which means I land on the outer edge and roll in, so I guess this really shows that in action. Needless to say, the shoes are retired now.

I won a pair of Brooks Adrenaline shoes at run group a few weeks back and moved into those. I ran a 10k last night in them, my first ever run in them, and they felt GREAT. Seriously, normally breaking in new shoes sucked, but these felt like they were made for me. I wasn't sore today either! So I think I can get back into the groove. And I'm not going to let the shoes get this bad again!

Last night it was pouring ran and low 50s when I ran. It was sort of fun but sort of annoying. I couldn't decide. At the end though I was soaked all the way through and my shoes were drenched as well.

Anyways, I have a 10k race tomorrow, the Great Pumpkin Run in Corvallis. It starts at the Fairgrounds and I think is fairly flat. I am not in near the shape I'd like to be because of my soreness stupidity, so the chances of me setting a PR are probably low. However, I did set a 5k record a few weeks back after not training great because of soreness (hmm) so who knows. The goals:

A Goal: Set a 10k PR record. This would be 47:30 or less.
B Goal: Under 49 minutes.
C Goal: Just do my best. Honestly, I wanted to train more but couldn't. Before my run yesterday, I last ran at least 6 miles over a MONTH ago. Six miles is long to me now.

SORE TIMEZ

So I am pretty sore. Let's run down these last few days:

Saturday: Help Libbie move. Legs and arms slightly sore after that.
Sunday: Run 5k and set a PR. Was a little sore to start but once I got moving felt great.
Monday: Run group. 5 miles at a pretty good clip. Last two miles I started to feel really beat down but powered through it.
Tuesday: Sore as a motherfucker. Walked like an old man. Again, just like after my half, I think the Monday night run is what put me over the top. I need to rest after race days.
Wednesday: Tried to run last night. Was sore but a lot of the time I am sore, I just start running and it goes away. Thought that would happen again. Not so much. Just got worse and worse. Pulled up after 5k and called it good.

Pretty sore today still. I am going to rest today and maybe tomorrow. I hate doing that because I am trying to get back in the swing of things, but with running you have to be patient. Hopefully I can go on a long run Saturday and take it nice and easy.

2012 CORVALLIS FALL FESTIVAL 5K RACE REPORT

Same route as last year (no surprise).

Well, it had been a whole year since my first ever race and it was time to see how I stacked up in that very same event. Frankly, while it was a given I was going to crush my 5k time from the year before (28:01), I wasn't very confident I was going to be able to set a PR or even really be in the ballpark. As I've described in earlier posts, I feel like I have gotten slower. Plus, this week, I really slacked off. After run group on Monday I ran just once more, on Wednesday, and that was after a few beers so the quality of run there wasn't so great.

Oh well, off I went anyways. Laurel was doing the race with us this year so she crashed on my couch so we could have a quick exit the next morning. Libbie stopped by at 6:55am and off we went!

Laurel and I post race, reliving OSU times.

We stopped at Starbucks on the way out for some coffee. So I had a Tall Venti Skinny Pumpkin latte and a chocolate old fashioned glazed doughnut. This is very similar to my pre-race breakfast before the Earth Day Run, and as we'll discover, there could be magic in this combination.

Anyways, the drive down there was uneventful. I was pretty awake because of the anticipation, so the drive went smoothly. Once there, we parked, picked up our t-shirts, and then stashed them back in the car. No hiding them in the bushes this year! They did change the order of starting times though so the 10k actually took off after the 5kers this year. Probably smart, only the really fast 10k people would have to deal with the 5k runners this way.

Before we knew it the race was about to start. I was excited to get going and see just how far I had "dropped off." I expected this race to be somewhat of a wake up call for me for slacking on training a bit. I tried to line up more towards the front this year. Last year I did quite a bit of weaving and wanted to avoid that this time around. They even had a guy on a megaphone trying to get people line up according to speed. Anyways, well it wasn't quite "Shamrock corrals" it seemed to be a little smoother. That, coupled with the closer starting position, led to less weaving... although I still had to do some - guess you can't really avoid it.


The girls after the race.

Once it had cleared a little bit I started pacing myself at a pretty decent clip. I would have guessed it to be 7:15/mile or so. I wanted to push myself but I didn't want to burn out. My lungs were burning but it was a comfortable burn, I didn't feel like I was going to die or anything. The legs felt good, so I just kept chugging along.

Through the OSU Campus we went, it was the same exact course as last year. At mile marker one I could hear them reading out the times... as I was still a distance away I heard "*mumble* thirty *mumble*" so my initial thought was "holy crap, I'm over seven and a half minutes already!" However, as I got closer, I could hear it was instead SIX minutes!

I crossed their mile marker at 6:46, easily my fastest mile ever. Really didn't feel like it. My phone didn't hit a mile until 6:57. Don't know which is more accurate, probably their measurements. Their course is officially measured and whatnot for 3.11 miles, my phone said the whole thing was only 3.08, so my phone short-changed me a little.

At this point I was pretty excited. Not only was I running fast, I felt like I could maintain it. It was a struggle, that was no doubt, but I just told myself I would be done in 15 minutes at the most. It was just a 5k, I could keep this up for two more miles! Probably not sub seven miles, but hell, just keep it within reason and my PR was in the bag.

My breathing got a little labored at times, my lungs were hacking up stuff, but I kept chugging along. Funny to think last year nine minute miles were doing the same thing to me, now I was running seven minute miles. Along the way I did a lot of passing and got passed very few times. Turns out I ran a pretty even clip, so I was passing a lot of people who went out too fast and couldn't maintain.


Me, shortly after setting a new 5k PR!

Like last year, I got some inspiration from kids in front of me and not wanting to let them beat me. While I did pass a number of kids who were running really fast, there were two in front of me I could never catch up to. But they were motivating at least.

At the two minute marker the times being read were "thirteen forty" something, so I knew I had done the next mile in about seven minutes. At this point, I had just a mile more to go so there was no slowing down or turning back now. I could sense the finish line. I skipped the water station again and powered small hill by Dixon Rec Center, passing a few people there.

After that, just the homestretch remained. Those two kids in front of me shot off like a cannon (they were racing each other) and I tried to follow up I didn't have quite the giddy up. I still came in pretty fast to the finish line. Looking at the clock as I passed I could believe what I had just done. 21:45! Really?!? I was too exhausted to think really, so I stumbled over, got my shoe tag off, grabbed water, and then tried to come back down to Earth. I was really spent, Earth Day Run spent, but a few splashes of water to the face and pacing in circles eventually brough me to the point of coherence again.

I wondered over to get position so I could watch Libbie and Laurel finish. I looked over at the clock to see how much time I had and I saw it pass 23:39, my old record. The fact that I had finished, got my tag off, grabbed a water, stumbled around and poured water over my head, just stood there breathing trying to catch my breath, and then wandered to watch the finishers only to finally see my previous PR roll by was amazing. I absolutely SMASHED it!

Libbie did great, not a PR for her but still an awesome time. Laurel did great also, finishing way faster than she thought she would and setting a PR for herself in terms of an actual event (she may or may not have ran faster during training).

I just missed out on awards for my age division (4th place), so we wandered around a bit then went to Blue Sky for lunch. Delicious!

Overall a very succesful race. Shattered my expectations! Apparently the long distance training strengthed my cardio and leg muslces or something and the speed was there when I needed it. I have no idea how this happened, but I am thrilled with the result!

Official Chip Time: 3.11 miles in 21:45, 7:00/mile pace. 34/427 overall, 4/20 M2029. Split times 6:57, 7:07, 7:09. The last .11 miles was ran at a 5:18/mi pace via extrapolation.

QUICK PRE CORVALLIS FALL FESITVAL GOALS POST

So the Corvallis Fall Festival Run is tomorrow, in about 10 hours, and I'm not so sure how good I am going to do. This race was my first race ever 365 days ago, so it will be fun to return to it as a better runner. I do feel like I was a better runner earlier this year though, I've fell off a tad, but oh well. I should still be able to post a good time.

My goals are:

A Goal: 5k PR. This would be 23:38 or less. Not sure I can do that. I've lost a lot of speed with my distance training, but if I'm feeling great, who knows. I would be ECSTATIC if this were to happen.

B Goal: Sub 24:30. With my current conditioning I feel like getting within a minute of my PR would be pretty good. Frankly, anything in the low 24s or high 23s would be gravy.

C Goal: Sub 8:00 average miles. Not sure what this works out to, probably 25:30 something, but as long as my mile times are 7 something and I try my best, not much more I can ask for. I would be disappointed to run an 8:01 average or something.

Anyways, we'll see how it goes!

RUNNING IN ROSEVILLE

When I first entered the trail. Very pretty!

This week I traveled to Roseville, California for business. That is where my work headquarters are and I went there to do some training for three days. Anyways, that part was fine, nothing interesting, but I wanted to post about my run while I was there.

Bridge over small stream that ran nearby.

I ran in the middle of the three days after a happy hour "Oktoberfest" (yes, in September) get-together. In full disclosure, I had three pints of beer before running. So, despite that making the run a burping acidy adventure, that third beer probably got my ass out of the door. And I am glad that I went!

Roseville has some really nice running trails. They pretty much kick the ass of Fanno Creek or anything else here in the suburbs. They were paved and nice and wide. There was a variety of people out... runners, bikers, and walkers.

Anyways, I knew there were trails near the hotel, so I just wandered in the general direction, found them, and then explored a little. My goal was just to run a 5k but I ended up running almost 4.5 miles. I wasn't able to run as fast I as I would have liked due to my stomach contents and sobriety, but I still managed to run sub 8:30 average.

Eventually I popped onto a residential street and did a little detour...there were some damn nice houses I was running past. I found out later that a lot of them were like over 4,000 square feet. McMansions indeed!

The sun set on my run.

The scenery reminded me of Roseburg, Oregon, which is pretty much my favorite place on earth. It even smelled the same. So it got a lot of point for that! I liked how the trail just ran under the major streets though, no need to cross on the surface with a light or anything. Beats the heck out of the always flooded Scholls crosisng or the Hall light any day.

To sum up, it's really fun to run in new places. I wish I had a couple weeks there just to explore all the running trails. They have one that goes all the way from Roseville to neighboring Rocklin and apparently it goes through a quarry or something. The weather would be dreadful to run in during the summer, but from October through April Roseville would be a pretty damn good place to live in as a runner!

Back to my boring 5k tomorrow. :(