Mar 20
2010

Course Commentary

Ah, Rodes.  Despite being similar in size to the Anthem 5k [7301 finishers vs 8516 finishers], Rodes is the antithesis of the Anthem 5k.

  • First of all, there is more than twice as much race course per participant, which allows for better spacing for most of the race.
  • Secondly, the increased distance reduces the number of walkers that have just signed up for the event on a whim.  Sure, there are walkers in this race, and they go at the same pace as the walkers in the 5k.  However, it’s harder to participate in a 10k without at least taking the event seriously.  2 hours is a lot of time to spend on your feet if you’re not prepared for it.
  • Lastly, the 10k course is a tour of a part of the city.  A 5k does not lend itself to taking in much scenery.  Most 5k races that I’ve been in run down a street a couple blocks, then turn or double-back on themselves.  With the exception of park-based courses, there’s nothing to see.  The Rodes course goes from Downtown Louisville to the Highlands to the Riverfront.

The course  is just hilly enough to give you an honest run, but not enough to be overly challenging.  There are a couple of very gradual climbs and descents, the entire course stays within a 120-foot elevation range, with most of the elevation change occurring in the first 2 miles.

Pace vs. Elevation

Race Report

I had planned to run a total of 50 miles this week, in 3 sets of double 6 milers on Monday-Wednesday, a 6 miler on Thursday, and then this 10k and warm-up/cool-down today.  After my last 5k race and subsequent 20 mile long run two days later, my hip started acting up.

After running about 52 miles last week, my hip was really testy.  The first two days of double runs this week added tendinitis in the ankle to the mix, and I ended up working in two days of hard exercise bike workouts instead of running.

Yesterday afternoon, the ankle had improved, but while jogging across the street to pick up my packet, I felt some major hip pain.  To top it off, I started feeling achy and sore from a sinus infection.  I managed to take NSAIDs and Sudafed and sweat it out overnight.

This morning, I felt pretty iffy about running 10k, much less racing it, but in running from the finish area to the start line, I tested my turnover and faster pace.  I discovered that the faster turnover hurt less.  This was a pretty good sign for the race.

At the race start [a nice 49 degrees], I took off near a 5:30 pace, but quickly settled back to my 5k pace of 6:30-ish.  By the end of the first mile, I had settled down to a more natural 10k pace [+15 seconds to the 5k pace].

That first climb up Broadway is always surprising, despite it being a completely manageable hill, and mile 2 was my only mile that went over a 7-minute mile.  The second slowest mile was mile 3, which has a smaller hill in it.

The remainder of my miles were just under my 6′51″ predicted pace [5k + 15 seconds], and those miles are flat to downhill.

For the final stretch [past 6], I had virtually no kick.  Neither my body nor my mind could will anymore speed than  a 6′24″ pace, which is fine, because I ran a pretty balanced race the rest of the way.

Time 43:01

Overall Place:  254 / 7301
Gender Place:  224 / 3250
Division (30-34 male) Place:  44 / 474

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Mar 7
2010

Dear Courier-Journal.  5k is a distance.  If you’re unfamiliar, it’s 5 kilometers, which is roughly 3.1 miles.

Marathon also refers to a distance.  At present, that distance is 26 miles, 385 yards or 42.195 kilometers.

In history, the distance has been as short as 24.85 miles.  However, it has never been remotely close to 5k.  The last finisher of the Anthem 5k finished 30 minutes sooner than the world record marathon time.

I do not expect the average person to understand the distinction; however, in order to report on a basketball game, you wouldn’t allow the terms “extra innings” and “overtime” to be confused.  ”Home runs” vs. “Touchdowns?”

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Mar 6
2010

Course Commentary

I’m not particularly fond of the Anthem 5k.  There were 8516 finishers this year.   In years past, this race was entirely run along the downtown city blocks.  While this made the course incredibly flat, every turn in the course was 90 degrees, and there were walkers interspersed with the front of the running pack.  One year, a walker dropped a Sony Discman in front of me near the starting line.  The result was similar to rush hour traffic dodging a stalled motorist on the freeway.

Of course, I’ve run Anthem 3 times now, out of 8 5k races that I’ve run overall.  Why would I run such a race if I hated it so?

  1. It’s obscenely flat. [Not as much this year--more on that in a bit]
  2. It’s chip-timed.
  3. It’s raced by some area elites, which is pretty cool–it’s like being Iona in the NCAA Tournament.
  4. The timing, along with the rest of the Louisville Triple Crown of Running, is perfect for building up to a spring marathon: A 5k, 10k, and 10 miler every other weekend, and then one last mileage build-up week before tapering for the KDF Marathon.
  5. Panera goodies at the end. [I didn't get any this year because my stomach really didn't feel like it.]

This time, the race logistics were greatly improved.  The walkers were separated into a group on a cross street so there wouldn’t be any ugly clashes [physical or emotional] between people moving at paces 5-8 minutes apart.  In order to accomplish this, the race start moved down near the river, which meant that slope going to and coming away from the river would be added in for this year’s race.  I completely did not expect this.  Had I realized this, well–I probably wouldn’t have even shot for a PR.  In hindsight, ignorance is bliss.

Race Report

I started this morning at Heine Bros with coffee and a veggie, egg and cheese panini at 6:30 am.  When I got to the ballpark, I had another “cup” of Heine Bros.  It was at this point that I noticed how that runners and walkers would be separated.

“Good plan,” I thought.

It wasn’t until about 7:30 am [30 minutes before the race start] that I realized that the race course had entirely changed.  I got out near the start about 7:40 am, but stayed in the sunlight until people started lining up at about 7:45 am.  It was about 32 F at the start of the race.  It was freezing in the shade of I-64, by the way. Every muscle in my body was shaking violently for 10 minutes straight.

I had set up my Garmin 305 for auto-lapping every 1k.  I was hitting 4′09″ and 4′10″ kilometers for the first 4 km – about a 20′45″ to 20′50″ pace.  That one hill coming away from the river seemed cruel at that pace and temperature.  Fortunately, there was a slight downhill shortly after that gave me a little momentum pace.

The middle stretch was the typical bargaining with myself to hold pace and feeling a little burn in my lungs and legs.

Coming into the last 1/2 km, I saw a woman that I recognized from several 5k races–mainly because she has passed me mid-race before.  I remember that she lined up about 4-5 seconds in front of me.  This time, she was about 5 seconds in front of me with the finish line in the distance.  I pushed the pace to see if I could pull up even with her, and managed to pull past her with about 1/10 of a mile to go.  I got out-kicked by a couple of other racers, but their strong finish probably helped me motivate myself to knock a couple of extra seconds off my time.

Finish:  20:36 for 5k, 6:38/mile pace.

Overall Place: 242 / 8516
Gender Place: 211 / 3609
Division Place (30-34 male): 38 / 522

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Mar 6
2010

- Line up in view of starting line. Lookout for anyone with a music playing device, especially if larger than an iPod nano. These participants are in it for the long haul. They will also likely drop their player right at the start.
- Run a sustainable-without-throwing-up pace for the first mile.
- Mile 2: Tell the doubt in your head to be quiet.
- Mile 3: That person 50 yards in front of you needs to be chased down. (insert motivation here)
- last tenth: This is the medieval, charging the battlefield stretch. Close those final 500+ yards as hard as you can.

Good luck.

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Feb 24
2010

[Workout - 6 x 1/2 mile progressive intervals 3:26.9 and faster]

Index card with treadmill speed by mileage marks

I’ve been pitying myself the last couple of weeks.

On February 3, I finished off a stupid 26 mile in 24 hours stunt with an attempted tempo run that turned into a slow limp for the last 3 miles.

My first thought:  “Just like last year.  I’ve injured myself and I’ll be sitting out all spring with injury.”

I biked the next day, and still hurt pretty bad.  What was supposed to be a 66 mile running week for me came to a dead stop at day 3 with 34 miles.  My back hurt, and by Friday, I scheduled yet another physical therapy appointment.

I decided to try normal running on Monday, with painful results:  6 miles in 52:57, but tremendous piriformis pain and lower back pain.  The following day, I decided that I would get my 6 miles in, even if I had to walk them all.  After two miles of progressively faster walking, the piriformis felt loose enough to test it running slowly.  No problems.

However, last week, I bailed on my 7:30/mile pace tempo run after 2 miles.  This past Saturday’s run had me feeling pretty incapable as well.

Needless to say, I’ve been building up apprehension about my first set of 1/2 mile intervals.  I took the index card [pictured] from my last progressive 1/2 mile interval session [over 3 weeks ago] to the treadmill.  The last time I attempted this workout, I got through the fourth set before my legs and lungs quit on me.  Surely, I would barely get through the 4 sets because of my injury.

Well, the piriformis hurts a little from the workout, but I got through 6 full 1/2 mile intervals and added an extra .11 [for 5k of intervals] from the seventh interval.  I probably had legs for one or two more 1/2 miles, but I didn’t want to overdo the workout, coming off of a close call with a longer term injury.

While I did have a real injury brewing, my biggest barrier was my fear of injury.

The only way I’m going to avoid injury is to sit perfectly still.

Then, I’ll never risk an injury.  I’ll also never accomplish anything, either.

Intervals (1/2 mile intervals)
Type Distance Time Total Time Pace Avg HR Max HR Notes
Recovery 1 Mi 9:32 9:32 9:32
Interval 0.5 Mi 3:26.9 12:58.9 6:54 8.7 mph
Recovery 0.25 Mi 2:19 15:17.9 9:16
Interval 0.5 Mi 3:24.5 18:42.4 6:49 8.8 mph
Recovery 0.25 Mi 2:18.5 21:00.9 9:14
Interval 0.5 Mi 3:22.2 24:23.1 6:45 8.9 mph
Recovery 0.25 Mi 2:18.5 26:41.6 9:14
Interval 0.5 Mi 3:20 30:01.6 6:40 9.0 mph
Recovery 0.25 Mi 2:18.5 32:20.1 9:14
Interval 0.5 Mi 3:17.8 35:37.9 6:36 9.1 mph
Recovery 0.25 Mi 2:18.5 37:56.4 9:14
Interval 0.5 Mi 3:15.7 41:12.1 6:32 9.2 mph
Recovery 0.25 Mi 2:18.5 43:30.6 9:14
Interval 0.11 Mi 0:42.6 44:13.2 6:28 9.3 mph

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