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?
- It’s obscenely flat. [Not as much this year--more on that in a bit]
- It’s chip-timed.
- It’s raced by some area elites, which is pretty cool–it’s like being Iona in the NCAA Tournament.
- 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.
- 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
Tags: 5k, anthem, triple crown
Trackback
•
Posted in race report
I’ve spent the past 6 months working up to this day. Twice in the past 16 months, I’ve been sidelined from running for more than 6 weeks. I began running everyday at the end of my last injury recovery, making it my goal to be able to run the next day, and trying to increase mileage by about 2.5 miles per week (0.1 mile per day, with two half mileage days). Once I was up to around 50 miles per week, I felt comfortable that my bad habits had subsided enough to introduce rest days.
I hit 70 miles in a week, felt some familiar pain, and decided to back off and build-up again. This time I cruised past 80 miles in a week with little difficulty.
The marathon:
As for the marathon race itself, this was my fastest marathon by 7 minutes and 25 seconds, but it was not my best performance. My Flying Pig Marathon last May (just before all the injuries) had even splits to negative splits. However, I did manage to run this race without my GPS watch on–just a simple stopwatch.
I started this race out at a pretty solid 7:30 to 7:40 pace. My stated goal time was 3:18, and I was right on target at the 10k split. That was probably a sign of trouble right there. I was running at the peak speed of my natural stride.
The 10k-halfway segment was only about 4 seconds slower pace. At the half, I was at 1:39:40, which would be a 6 minute and 28 second PR for a half (although, that half PR was set the Saturday before my old Marathon PR, so I probably held back.)
This is the point where my training has fallen short: My longest race this year was before my injury–a 10 miler. Since recovery, I haven’t run a race longer than 5k. I neither had the mental fortitude or mental training to adjust my pace.
I faltered around mile 16, and my splits started slipping past 7:40 to around 8:30. The 30k split actually benefited from a descent down an exit ramp.
Around mile 20, I was no longer shielded from the wind that was whipping all around. For the last 6 miles, I was perpetually running with my head down, arms flailing, running sideways… anything to push through the wind. For the final few miles approaching and in downtown Indianapolis, the wind blew even harder, whipping between the buildings.
Post race, I struggled to stabilize myself while retrieving food and powerade. The 1 mile walk back to the hotel was brutal, and slow–but I still managed to get back to the hotel sooner than I would have finished my first marathon time in… 4:34 vs. 3:32.
A comparison of hitting walls:
It’s amazing how differently hitting a wall looks today than in my first marathon (OBX in 2007). I hit those last miles at a 12 minute pace. There was a lot of walking.
| 10 | 20 | Finish | |
| Split Time | 1:32:03.6 | 3:17:43.5 | 4:34:05.6 |
| Split Point | 10 | 20 | 26.22 |
| Average Pace at Split | 09:12.4 | 09:53.2 | 10:27.2 |
| Segment Time | 1:32:03.6 | 1:45:40 | 1:16:22 |
| Segment Distance | 10 | 10 | 6.2 |
| Segment Pace | 09:12.4 | 10:34.0 | 12:19.0 |
For my marathon today in Indianapolis, the wall constituted of a 8:56 average pace segment. More importantly, only two of those miles were slower than 9 minutes.
| 10k | Half | 30k | Finish | |
| Split Time | 0:46:55 | 1:39:40 | 2:24:14 | 3:32:20 |
| Split Point | 6.2 | 13.1 | 18.6 | 26.22 |
| Average Pace at Split | 07:34.0 | 07:36.5 | 07:45.3 | 08:05.9 |
| Segment Time | 0:46:55 | 0:52:45 | 0:44:34 | 1:08:06 |
| Segment Distance | 6.2 | 6.9 | 5.5 | 7.62 |
| Segment Pace | 07:34.0 | 07:38.7 | 08:06.3 | 08:56.3 |
I set a new 5k tonight at the Gaslight 5k in Jeffersontown, KY. Didn’t feel much up to finishing, even at the start, feeling winded from jog to the start.
It was roughly 79 degrees at the start, which is a little too warm for any distance race. I started off my first kilometer at a 5:55 per mile pace, so obviously, I went out too fast.
I really felt the will to finish about halfway through the race, but managed to find a little bit of kick left to manage a PR when I saw the clock still had about thirty seconds left before my 20:59 PR.
My new PR: 20:52.
Trackback
•
Posted in race report
Congratulations to @LouisvilleSoup who broke 24 minutes as well.
I arrived close to 7 am at the Falls of the Ohio State Park, and ran a mile warm-up. The air had felt chilly all morning until that point at around 60 degrees.
After finishing my warm-up, the air didn’t feel so crisp and cool anymore, but it was still comfortable–probably about as warm I could stand for a medium distance race. I lined up in the second row of people, maybe about 10-12 people wide, and took off like a bat out of hell for the first several hundred feet. The first km split was at a 6′41″ pace. As far as I remember, from that point on, no one passed me. I spent the rest of the race trying to catch up with people out in front of me.
By the fourth kilometer, I started to feel some fatigue and lost a little motivation to finish the job. I tried focusing in on a guy who seemed to be pacing the perfect 5k race, and pushed myself to get past him.
With the finish clock in plain sight, I saw 20:45 heading into the corral. I sprinted in for the finish at 20:59 (6′46″ pace). 2nd3rd (received 2nd place medal) in my age group (30-39) out of 13, and 12th out of 141 in the field (no walkers included). See Overall results & Men’s results.
Added: My previous PR was 21:41 (6′59″ / mile). Interesting to see my 5k PRs over time.
For my recovery run: Let’s just say that Kao Pad Gra Prow (extra spicy) from Thai Siam is not a good idea the night before a race.
Tags: 5k, race report, streak
I raced the 10 mile Hangover Classic in (East of) Downtown Louisville this morning. The forecasts were saying start temperature would be low 30s, but reality was that my warm-up at 9:15 was at about 19°F, and start was probably low 20s still. The course is amazing flat, with an average grade of about 1.6%. With the air temperature generally very cold, the race is about as fast as you can get.
| Summary Data | ||
| Moving Time (h:m:s) | 1:15:39 | 7:30 pace |
| Distance (mi ) | 10.08 | |
| Moving Speed (mph) | 8.0 avg. | 11.8 max. |
| Elevation Gain (ft) | +412 / -422 | |
| Temperature (°F) | 28.4°F avg. | 32°F high |
| Wind Speed ( mph) | SE 8.8 avg. | SE 9.2 max. |
I set my Garmin to pace me for a 7′15″ pace, trying to beat my Papa John’s 10 miler PR (which is a little warmer and a little bit hillier with Iroquois Park in the middle). I struggled to hit 7′15″ pace even once, but stayed below 7′30″ pace until the wheels came off in the 8th mile. My legs had no kick left, and I had some major side stitches creeping in. I also managed to run the course inefficiently, adding about 0.05 from running wide on several turns.
Warm up:1.6 miles in 14:28 for a 9′01″ pace.
Recovery: 2.51 miles in 26:28 for a 10′31″ pace
I started the morning with a bit of a cold and my mileage has dropped off of late. Looks like I’ll be looking at the Papa John’s 10 miler this year to break the 75 minute mark.
| Lap (#) |
Time (m:s) |
Distance (mi ) |
| 1 | 7:16 | 1.00 |
| 2 | 7:15 | 1.00 |
| 3 | 7:24 | 1.00 |
| 4 | 7:28 | 1.00 |
| 5 | 7:21 | 1.00 |
| 6 | 7:22 | 1.00 |
| 7 | 7:29 | 1.00 |
| 8 | 7:44 | 1.00 |
| 9 | 7:44 | 1.00 |
| 10 | 7:52 | 1.00 |
| 11 | 0:37 | 0.08 |
Elevation Chart:
Trackback
•
Posted in race report
2