To Infinity and Beyond - Becoming a Better DopeyBadger (Comments Welcome)

[DopeyBadger]

16 Weeks to Go (Is it HOT, HOT, HOT or a Cool, Cool Summer...)

Last week of training before race week. Another crazy hot week and some nice cooler weather. Also, my first attempt at doing 4 miles of 5K paced speed work in a single day. Let's see how the week went...

Date - Day - Scheduled Workout (Intervals within desired pace, Speed +/- 5 sec, everything else +/- 10 sec)

6/8/16 - W - Medicine Ball Workout (MBW)
6/9/16 - R - 1.5 miles @ 9:25 min/mile + 6 miles @ 7:33 min/mile + 1.5 miles @ 9:25 min/mile (6/6)
6/10/16 - F - 7 miles @ 9:11 min/mile (4/7)
6/11/16 - Sat - 7 miles @ 8:33 min/mile (5/7) + MBW
6/12/16 - Sun - 10 miles @ 8:13 min/mile (7/10)
6/13/16 - M - 7 miles @ 9:11 min/mile (7/7)
6/14/16 - T - 1.5 miles @ 9:44 min/mile + 16 x 400m @ 6:39 min/mile with 400m RI @ 9:33 min/mile + 1.5 miles @ 9:56 min/mile (11/16)

Total mileage = 50.75 miles
Number of intervals within pace = 40/53 (75%)

After last week's sufferfest for the Tempo run it was time to see whether this was an indication that the paces were too much or just a case of bad pacing. So, on Thursday we had attempt #2 at Tempo. And the verdict is in, it was just bad pacing last week. While I didn't hit the 7:33 pacing on the head, I was able to keep all 6 intervals within 10 seconds of the desired pace. Given the slightly hotter temps, I chalked this run up as a success.

Friday was hot, hot, hot. It had a temp of 95, and boy did it feel like it. This is where effort based pacing came into play. While I was suppose to do 9:11 easy pacing, I let my effort dictate the pacing. This caused me to miss on the later intervals, but in reality it was a success. As I've said many times before and will continue to say all summer, the end goal of every workout is to do a certain effort level. If a certain pace requires a higher effort level than normal, then don't do it. Try to keep the effort the same no matter what pace that comes out to (as long as it isn't too fast).

And then Saturday came and it was 66. Man what a difference. So much easier to run when it's cooler. Oh wait, it was 95% humidity... Yea it was again something where you just run by effort. In the end the weather had less of an effect on the pacing then Friday.

Sunday was nice and cool (61) and low humidity. Hooray! Even more bonus points because a storm was rolling into Madison and thus was about 15 miles away. I got the benefits of the cool wind, but not the downside of the actual rain/lightening. Very lucky! Pacing was easy and successful. Unfortunately I zoned out a little towards the end and dropped in a 7:52 and 7:58, whoops a little too fast. No worries. Live and learn.

Monday was a dominant run. My goal was to keep the pacing super easy in anticipation for Tuesday's extra hard speed day. Things went well and nailed all 7 intervals.

Tuesday was my first attempt at my new Speed plan. Instead of doing 3 miles broken into intervals for speed (i.e. 12 x 400), I have bumped it up to 4 miles at 5K pace (i.e. 16 x 400). I wasn't sure whether this would work or not. So, I was conservative on the first interval and then kept pushing to see if I could keep hitting the paces. I could definitely tell after interval 12 that it became that much harder to hit the paces. The temperature was a little on the hot side (85) and there was a light rain. Again, though hitting 11/16 paces isn't completely the whole picture since it's so tough to hit a +/-5 sec window on the paces. So what did the splits look like...

1- 1:44.2
2- 1:39.2
3- 1:40.0
4- 1:40.8
5- 1:40.5
6- 1:40.2
7- 1:40.7
8- 1:41.6
9- 1:40.7
10- 1:40.7
11- 1:40.5
12- 1:41.8
13- 1:41.6
14- 1:40.9
15- 1:42.2
16- 1:41.3

Overall, pretty consistent and a good indication that I can manage to do 4 miles of 5K pace during workouts.

The upcoming week is race week. Which means I deviate from my normal training schedule. On Thursday it's normally a Tempo day. Instead I'm doing the equivalent time training, but only at easy pacing. I reduced the mileage on the easy Friday by one mile. 10K Race on Saturday. Sunday is up in the air as to whether it will be long run pacing/easy but the duration will be the same. Monday still easy. Tuesday will be a reduced speed day or easy depending on how I've recovered from the race. So essentially, I could drop from 3 SOS workouts down to 1 SOS workout (the race). This is another reason why I don't like to race during the marathon cycle because it requires so many adjustments to help ensure I stay injury free. I made an exception for this race because it's local and I'm ready to contend for a title.

I'll do another strategy session later this week to talk about what my plans are for Saturday's 10K. However, I told my daughter that if I did well I'd get a trophy (top 3 age group (30-39)) and she said "OOhhhh, Congratulations!" I told her that if I won she could go get the trophy and she said "That would be fun!" So guess I added a little extra pressure to myself for race day!

 

[DopeyBadger]

2016 Hot2Trot 10K: Strategy

This will be my first time running the Hot2Trot 10K, and only the second year of its existence. The course is in my hometown of Cottage Grove with the start about a mile from my house. This will also be my first non-Dopey 10K. The 10K race last year had 50 participants. I'm expecting that number to grow, but at this point I don't know by how much. So, let's talk timing and strategy.

The Timeline

5:00 am - Wake up and eat standard race breakfast (white bagel + peanut butter & honey and banana). Drink 16-24 oz of water.
5:30-7:00 am - Take a shower, get dressed and prepare race items. Get Gigi up and ready to go.
7:00 am - Drive to start line
7:10 am - Begin dynamic stretching routine
7:15 am - Run 3 miles of warm-up. Pace will be held at very easy from miles 0-2 (around 9:11-9:47). Mile 3 will incorporate some strides to begin to wake up the muscles. Strides will last 10-30 seconds in duration and are to be no faster than expected race pace (6:55 min/mile). Before the next stride begins my breathing and heart rate must return to normal.
7:45 am - Begin pre-cooling procedure. Rub ice on head, neck, torso, and arms. Place a cooling towel with ice on head.
8:10 am - Run some very easy pace with a couple of strides mixed in. Reinvigorating the muscles.
8:20 am - Ingest 10 oz of slushy ice water (or an ice pop) and consume an E-Gel.
8:25 am - Remove water bottle from ice chest and head to the start line
8:30 am - Race begins

Race Strategy

I'll be wearing my Hansons singlet and a new pair of black running shorts (Happy Father's Day). I'll also be wearing my racing pair of shoes (Black Kinvara 5).

The goal is to have my pacing be the following:
Miles 1-2: 10 seconds slower than average pace
Miles 3-4: Average pace
Miles 5-6.2: 10 seconds faster than average pace

At this point, I don't know what average pace will be. Race estimates put me at a 6:55 min/mile. However, since I run blind (without GPS feedback) I won't know my actual pacing and will continue to run by effort. My effort in miles 1-2 should be relaxed and confident (comfortable hard). My effort in miles 3-4 should be a bit tougher and starting to accelerate (hard). My effort in the last two miles should be all out (very hard).

I will toe the line at the beginning of the race with the anticipation that I will finish in the top 5-10 runners. Once the race starts, I will count the number of people that head out in front of me. My goal for pacing is not to go out too hard, so I need to be cognizant of my own efforts and not worry about how many people start faster than me. Especially if there are any middle/high schoolers in the race, as they are notoriously fast starters and fade hard at the end.

My wife will meet me at mile 0.9. At that point she will yell out how many people are ahead of me, this will help confirm my current standings. One of my goals, is that after I hit mile 2 NO ONE is allowed to pass me. I pride myself on being a smart pacer. This means if I take the first 2 miles slightly easier, then there shouldn't be anyone that out kicks me. If someone is attempting to pass me, then I need to be trying harder and try to hold (metaphorically) on to them.

We do a loop around the city and then at mile 3.9 I will see my wife again. At this point she will hand me a fresh ice cold water bottle and yell out how many fast runners have passed. This is where it gets tricky and fun. The 5K has a start time of 8:45 and the 10K's last 2.5 miles is on the final stretch of the 5K route. So when my wife is standing at her spot she will have the 5K'ers pass her (including my mom and possibly BIL). When I approach her, I should just be starting to hit the tail end of the 5K pack. So her goal is to do her best in differentiating between 5K and 10K participants to once again give me an update as to the number ahead of me. As long as I keep my goal of no one passing after 2 miles, I should have a pretty good idea of the number ahead of me. In addition, if possible she'll tell me how close I am to other 10k runners, or how close they are to me. We'll see how this works out.

From miles 4-6.2, I'll be coming through the back of the 5K pack. Based on the pictures from last year there is plenty of room for everyone to run without issue. I feed off passing people so it will be fun to pass a ton of people during my final 2 mile kick.

About mile 5-5.5 is the most challenging hill on the course. The uphill isn't terribly daunting, but the downhill section to the finish is fairly steep. I'll need to be cognizant of keeping my head back and feet moving quick to reduce the impact force of my steps. Then from there it's just a mad dash to the finish line.

Goals

1) Top 5 - This goal can be adjusted by the number of participants. My expectation is I should be around the top 10%. When I'm at the packet pickup, I'll inquire about the number of 10K runners.
2) Top 3 in age group (30-39) - Only the top 3 receive trophies in each age group. It's a cool little bobble head fireman. I told my daughter I'd win one for her and let her go up on stage to get it. No pressure!
3) Finish my 10K faster than my mother and BIL finish their 5K. This one is likely no longer a goal as I'm not sure my BIL is running, and my mother told me this morning she plans on taking the race easier.
4) Allow no one to pass me after mile 2

After finishing, I'll celebrate with a giant apple fritter for Father's Day! Woot Woot!

 

[roxymama]

2016 Hot2Trot 10K: Strategy

This will be my first time running the Hot2Trot 10K, and only the second year of its existence. The course is in my hometown of Cottage Grove with the start about a mile from my house. This will also be my first non-Dopey 10K. The 10K race last year had 50 participants. I'm expecting that number to grow, but at this point I don't know by how much. So, let's talk timing and strategy.

The Timeline

5:00 am - Wake up and eat standard race breakfast (white bagel + peanut butter & honey and banana). Drink 16-24 oz of water.
5:30-7:00 am - Take a shower, get dressed and prepare race items. Get Gigi up and ready to go.
7:00 am - Drive to start line
7:10 am - Begin dynamic stretching routine
7:15 am - Run 3 miles of warm-up. Pace will be held at very easy from miles 0-2 (around 9:11-9:47). Mile 3 will incorporate some strides to begin to wake up the muscles. Strides will last 10-30 seconds in duration and are to be no faster than expected race pace (6:55 min/mile). Before the next stride begins my breathing and heart rate must return to normal.
7:45 am - Begin pre-cooling procedure. Rub ice on head, neck, torso, and arms. Place a cooling towel with ice on head.
8:10 am - Run some very easy pace with a couple of strides mixed in. Reinvigorating the muscles.
8:20 am - Ingest 10 oz of slushy ice water (or an ice pop) and consume an E-Gel.
8:25 am - Remove water bottle from ice chest and head to the start line
8:30 am - Race begins

Race Strategy

I'll be wearing my Hansons singlet and a new pair of black running shorts (Happy Father's Day). I'll also be wearing my racing pair of shoes (Black Kinvara 5).

The goal is to have my pacing be the following:
Miles 1-2: 10 seconds slower than average pace
Miles 3-4: Average pace
Miles 5-6.2: 10 seconds faster than average pace

At this point, I don't know what average pace will be. Race estimates put me at a 6:55 min/mile. However, since I run blind (without GPS feedback) I won't know my actual pacing and will continue to run by effort. My effort in miles 1-2 should be relaxed and confident (comfortable hard). My effort in miles 3-4 should be a bit tougher and starting to accelerate (hard). My effort in the last two miles should be all out (very hard).

I will toe the line at the beginning of the race with the anticipation that I will finish in the top 5-10 runners. Once the race starts, I will count the number of people that head out in front of me. My goal for pacing is not to go out too hard, so I need to be cognizant of my own efforts and not worry about how many people start faster than me. Especially if there are any middle/high schoolers in the race, as they are notoriously fast starters and fade hard at the end.

My wife will meet me at mile 0.9. At that point she will yell out how many people are ahead of me, this will help confirm my current standings. One of my goals, is that after I hit mile 2 NO ONE is allowed to pass me. I pride myself on being a smart pacer. This means if I take the first 2 miles slightly easier, then there shouldn't be anyone that out kicks me. If someone is attempting to pass me, then I need to be trying harder and try to hold (metaphorically) on to them.

We do a loop around the city and then at mile 3.9 I will see my wife again. At this point she will hand me a fresh ice cold water bottle and yell out how many fast runners have passed. This is where it gets tricky and fun. The 5K has a start time of 8:45 and the 10K's last 2.5 miles is on the final stretch of the 5K route. So when my wife is standing at her spot she will have the 5K'ers pass her (including my mom and possibly BIL). When I approach her, I should just be starting to hit the tail end of the 5K pack. So her goal is to do her best in differentiating between 5K and 10K participants to once again give me an update as to the number ahead of me. As long as I keep my goal of no one passing after 2 miles, I should have a pretty good idea of the number ahead of me. In addition, if possible she'll tell me how close I am to other 10k runners, or how close they are to me. We'll see how this works out.

From miles 4-6.2, I'll be coming through the back of the 5K pack. Based on the pictures from last year there is plenty of room for everyone to run without issue. I feed off passing people so it will be fun to pass a ton of people during my final 2 mile kick.

About mile 5-5.5 is the most challenging hill on the course. The uphill isn't terribly daunting, but the downhill section to the finish is fairly steep. I'll need to be cognizant of keeping my head back and feet moving quick to reduce the impact force of my steps. Then from there it's just a mad dash to the finish line.

Goals

1) Top 5 - This goal can be adjusted by the number of participants. My expectation is I should be around the top 10%. When I'm at the packet pickup, I'll inquire about the number of 10K runners.
2) Top 3 in age group (30-39) - Only the top 3 receive trophies in each age group. It's a cool little bobble head fireman. I told my daughter I'd win one for her and let her go up on stage to get it. No pressure!
3) Finish my 10K faster than my mother and BIL finish their 5K. This one is likely no longer a goal as I'm not sure my BIL is running, and my mother told me this morning she plans on taking the race easier.
4) Allow no one to pass me after mile 2

After finishing, I'll celebrate with a giant apple fritter for Father's Day! Woot Woot!

This is so exciting!! I have no hockey anymore since the Hawks got bounced and my baseball team is garbage right now. And it will be literally forever until the Olympics start. My total lack of exciting sports makes me soooo excited to see how you do on this race. Too bad there won't be a live feed

I'd love to one day have an age group even if a top 5 just likely is never in my cards. Looks like you have a great strategy. And my hubby has definitely tried to count women in their 30's for me but it always ends up with "every woman looks young" which is the smart thing to say.

 

[DopeyBadger]

This is so exciting!! I have no hockey anymore since the Hawks got bounced and my baseball team is garbage right now. And it will be literally forever until the Olympics start.

Don't worry we have Track and Field Olympic Trials in only 2 weeks!!!

http://www.ustfccca.org/infozone/broadcast-schedule.php

http://running.competitor.com/2016/...p-coverage-of-u-s-olympic-track-trials_147423

I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready! It's going to be some seriously good events!

My total lack of exciting sports makes me soooo excited to see how you do on this race. Too bad there won't be a live feed

I'd love to one day have an age group even if a top 5 just likely is never in my cards. Looks like you have a great strategy.

I use to post-live tracking but I don't carry my phone anymore.

I'm not sure it'll be possible for me either (top 5), but you know what I'm going to darn well try. I want to see how fast I can go when I REALLY push myself. I've still got 15 weeks to the marathon which is plenty of time to recover from this 10K, and I don't have a half the next day like every other 10K I've ever done (Dopey). I felt very comfortable at last week's 5K pace of 6:39, so I'm hoping I can continue that comfort level. I literally have no reason to hold back other than I can't physically go any faster. I hope I get that experience where it's me and someone else and it comes down to who can hammer it home in the final kick. It's going to be fun!

And my hubby has definitely tried to count women in their 30's for me but it always ends up with "every woman looks young" which is the smart thing to say.

Smart man!

 

[roxymama]

Oh sweet, I forgot about trials.

I forgot to ask you where you are lining up at the start. As someone who never sniffs an A corral and stays away from the fastest people I don't think about this...what's your start lining up strategy?

 

[DopeyBadger]

Oh sweet, I forgot about trials.

I forgot to ask you where you are lining up at the start. As someone who never sniffs an A corral and stays away from the fastest people I don't think about this...what's your start lining up strategy?

Right on the start line. The 10k is gun timed and I anticipate being one of the fastest runners. Per the packet pickup today there are less than 50 runners doing the 10k. If there were a turn near the start of the race then I'd shade towards that side. Not all the way over though because you get squashed on the turn.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Hot2Trot 10K: Race Recap

Everything from the timeline went as planned.

5:00 am - Wake up and eat standard race breakfast (white bagel + peanut butter & honey and banana). Drink 16-24 oz of water.
5:30-7:00 am - Take a shower, get dressed and prepare race items. Get Gigi up and ready to go.
7:00 am - Drive to start line
7:10 am - Begin dynamic stretching routine
7:15 am - Run 3 miles of warm-up. Pace will be held at very easy from miles 0-2 (around 9:11-9:47). Mile 3 will incorporate some strides to begin to wake up the muscles. Strides will last 10-30 seconds in duration and are to be no faster than expected race pace (6:55 min/mile). Before the next stride begins my breathing and heart rate must return to normal.
7:45 am - Begin pre-cooling procedure. Rub ice on head, neck, torso, and arms. Place a cooling towel with ice on head.
8:10 am - Run some very easy pace with a couple of strides mixed in. Reinvigorating the muscles.
8:20 am - Ingest 10 oz of slushy ice water (or an ice pop) and consume an E-Gel.
8:25 am - Remove water bottle from ice chest and head to the start line
8:30 am - Race begins

The one change I would make is not standing at the start line so long. I should have hung out in the shade for just a smidge longer.

Toed the line with the other runners and started to guess ages and abilities. I could quickly see I was in and around my goal of top 5.

Mile 1 - 6:47 min/mile

The goal was to count the number of people that headed out in front of me. This was done so I could get a quick estimate on my ability to hit my goal of top 5/ top 3 age. At first count, there were 6 people ahead of me. Based on the cadence and labor of effort I could tell 2 of them were going out way too fast. I dropped the first of those two around mile 0.5. Now in 6th place. I had a feeling I was going a little too hard, but I liked the pace. We turned to start running in the opposite direction and BAM there was the sun. The predicted temp was 65-70 for the race, but it looks like it ended up being 75-80 with a touch of humidity. I was happy how the race was going at this point. Saw my wife and Gigi for the first time!

Mile 2 - 7:12 min/mile

Hit the first water station and doused myself in the whole cup. This is where the race started to change. Right after the 1 mile mark, I could see the few runners in front of me taking a left turn. EXCEPT that we weren't suppose to turn there... I started yelling up to the front group which was led by a pace bike that they were headed the wrong way. To no avail, they headed the wrong direction except for one runner that stopped and headed back to us. This is the second race that I've had to yell to other runners that they were going the wrong way. And again this took a lot of energy to yell mid-race. I really should stop helping others because it effects my race, but in the end it's the right thing to do. Right after this I started to develop a small cramp in my stomach. We did end up converging with the other runners after 0.3 miles or so, so whatever the cut distance it was likely minimal. Hit another aid station and doused myself in water again. At the mile 2 marker I got passed by another runner. Now in 7th place. He was to be the last runner allowed to pass me.

Mile 3 - 7:37 min/mile

This was a tad uphill and more full sun. Tried to keep a lasso around the runner who passed me and hold on. I could see up ahead the runner I had tagged as going too fast for himself and could see it was someone I could probably pass. Then came another runner around mile 2.5 that passed me (no shirt). I recognized him as someone in my age group from last year's race photos. So I knew he was likely now in 3rd place in age. I knew that if I was going to finish top 3 in age and top 5 overall I could not let him run away. Now in 8th place. So I quickly tucked behind him and just kept pushing. This is where the race changed for me. It became a race to the finish. I knew I couldn't let no shirt get too far so I just tried to become his shadow. This is where I ran out of the water in my water bottle. I knew I was going to have to make it about 1 mile without any more water and tried to power through.

Mile 4 - 7:29 min/mile

We finally hit a downhill! Thank goodness! No shirt was slightly taller than me and had a longer stride. So he extended his lead on me slightly during the downhill. I took a quick glance behind and saw no one. So I knew it was going to be me and him to the finish. As we started to merge with the part of the course we've done before we started to hit the back of the 5k pack. No issues running along side them as there was plenty of road for everyone. Came up on the other tagged runner who was pushing too hard early in the race and passed him. Now I saw my wife and daughter around 3.9 miles again. Thankfully she had my replacement water bottle and it was AMAZING! Drank some, poured some, drank some, poured LOTS. Hit another aid station and just kept pouring it on. I started to feel a lot better and tried to hold the pace. No shirt was still ahead but not by much and I felt like I was gaining.

Mile 5 - 7:31 min/mile

Just keep no shirt in view. Just keep him only a few steps ahead. Keep pushing, try to gain on him... At mile 4.6, we finally hit another aid station and doused myself AGAIN. Just kept trying to stay cool. This is where I made my move. Now no shirt and I were running side-by-side. We kept dodging 5k runners, but at no point was it a problem. I intentionally starting holding back just a touch. I wanted him to try and hold on to me thinking this was all I had left. I wanted to save a final hammer move with the hopes of dropping him. So the run changed from run your fastest, to beat no shirt! Now in 6th place after passing no shirt.

Mile 6 - 7:28 min/mile

This was the final hill in the race. I knew I needed to drop him otherwise we would just shadow each other to the finish. As we almost reached the apex of the hill another 10k runner came flying by. I was like whoa when did we pass this guy? I didn't ever realize we'd passed him, but as soon as he passed me I quickly tied myself to him and PUSHED. I was apparently in 5th, but now I'm actually in 6th again. As we reached the top of the hill I knew this is where the race was going to be made. I needed to keep the hammer down because no shirt has a longer stride and showed earlier in the race he was a better downhill runner. I kept taking small glances over my left shoulder to judge his distance and each time realized he was MY SHADOW. I STILL hadn't dropped him. He'd covered my move and my downhill. So we hit mile 5.7 I threw down another hammer. According to Garmin my pace dropped down to a 5:33 min/mile. After the final surge to the mile 6 marker I took a quick glance over my left shoulder and he was no where to be seen. OR SO I THOUGHT..... In 6th place with a presumed 3rd place in age group????!?!??!?!?

Mile 6.2 - 5:33 min/mile

The final sprint. I was giving it everything I had. Just me and 200m separated me from the 6th place overall and 3rd place bobble head fireman trophy. The final 200m as told by pictures...







Yep.... That's me getting out kicked in the last 200m of the race. I thought I had him, but he was sneaky. He was on my right shoulder not my left shoulder. Every time I looked back in the last mile he was always on my left. He switched it up and passed me on the right. Completely unexpected and explains why I didn't see him in that last glance at mile 6 marker.

Final time - 44:31 (a new PR by 4 seconds over the last 6.2 in my half marathon in December). Given the temp/humidity, I am super happy with this time.

Gave everyone their congrats and then just anxiously waited to see the results posted. AND GUESS WHAT???? I finished in 6th place. I finished 3rd in my age group!!! WOOT WOOT!

Wait..... what's that..... there isn't anyone listed DIRECTLY ahead of me finishing within 3-4 seconds of me. Where is no shirt? Since it's a gun timed start it means that if he just passed me at the end he should definitely be listed right there. So I waited, and waited. And then I saw him and went up to no shirt. I said you're not on the finishers list. I said your bib must not have registered and that he should talk to the race director. They took his info and told him they'd fix it for him later that day. I told him if they gave me the 3rd place trophy for 30-39 I'd give it to him because he definitely beat me.

Here are some final pics:

Me and Gigi at the finisher's area!



Me with the 30-39 bobble head fireman trophy. Actually one of the best trophies I've ever seen.



Me and Gigi posing with the trophy for official pics.



AND me and no shirt as I gave him the 3rd place trophy for 30-39.



While I'm disappointed he beat me I felt it was the right thing to do to give him the trophy. He earned it and he beat me fair and square. It was SOOO hard to give it up because it was an awesome trophy, but honestly I never hesitated because in the end I would hope that someone else if the roles were reversed would do the same.

So let's review the goals:

Goals
1) Top 5
2) Top 3 in age group (30-39)
3) Finish my 10K faster than my mother finish her 5K.
4) Allow no one to pass me after mile 2

Well, so I actually missed on all 4 goals. I finished in 7th place, 4th in my age group, my mom beat me by about 50 seconds (so much for taking it easy...), and I got passed by one person after mile 2 (no shirt). You'd think I would be sad, but I'm not. I actually had a lot of fun and got the exact race I wanted. ME vs ANOTHER RUNNER throughout the whole race. He beat me, but that's ok because I said I'd see him next year.

BTW, the 1st and 2nd overall were only separated by 1.2 seconds. The high school kid out kicked the seasoned runner at the line. Pretty cool!

Oh and I did get to celebrate with my FAVORITE DOUGHNUT! An apple fritter from the local bakery. It IS AMAZING!!!! YUM! YUM! YUM! Don't worry I didn't eat the whole thing. Learned that the hard way last year.



Happy Father's Day!

 

[roxymama]

Great recap. Sounds both fun and stressful to race someone for so much of the race.
I think it's great to make "tough" goals, because even when you just come close its still quite the accomplishment. You could have made a goal for top 20 or something and crushed it, but it's admirable to try for the really hard to achieve stuff. Shows just what you can achieve. Maybe I'll try to make some harder/scarier goals one of these days too.
The trophy is awesome but what's more awesome is showing your daughter what real sportsmanship is about. And the running gods did help you keep one goal...you did go up and get that trophy with her. You never said anything about keeping it! Haha

Final thoughts: I need one of those insane doughnuts, why are so many 30-39 year olds so dang fast?, and NICE HAIR, MAN!

 

[roxymama]

Ok, on a more serious note: the no-shirt dude looks just like a larger Chris Harrison, host of the bachelor.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Great recap. Sounds both fun and stressful to race someone for so much of the race.
I think it's great to make "tough" goals, because even when you just come close its still quite the accomplishment. You could have made a goal for top 20 or something and crushed it, but it's admirable to try for the really hard to achieve stuff. Shows just what you can achieve. Maybe I'll try to make some harder/scarier goals one of these days too.
The trophy is awesome but what's more awesome is showing your daughter what real sportsmanship is about. And the running gods did help you keep one goal...you did go up and get that trophy with her. You never said anything about keeping it! Haha

Final thoughts: I need one of those insane doughnuts, why are so many 30-39 year olds so dang fast?, and NICE HAIR, MAN!

It's true as I like to set my goals just at the edge of achievable. It just means some time I fall short, but that's not disappointing. It's just another step towards the ultimate goal of a sub 3-hr marathon. Yep, sounds like you found a loop-hole and the trophy with the daughter can be marked as a success.

Those doughnuts are my downfall. Only once per year, that's all I can tolerate. And yea so many dang 30-39 fast people. Comes with the territory I guess.

I call it my aerodynamic haircut!

Ok, on a more serious note: the no-shirt dude looks just like a larger Chris Harrison, host of the bachelor.

How am I not surprised you gave us a Bachelor reference? I'll be to sure to mention that to him around mile 5 next year to see if I can throw him off focus.

I forgot to mention one other thing. My mom ran a 28:xx with a 4th place finish in 50-59. The 3rd place was 2 seconds ahead of her and 2nd place was 8 seconds. Oh so close... for the Blaser family.

 

[LSUlakes]

Hot2Trot 10K: Race Recap

Everything from the timeline went as planned.

5:00 am - Wake up and eat standard race breakfast (white bagel + peanut butter & honey and banana). Drink 16-24 oz of water.
5:30-7:00 am - Take a shower, get dressed and prepare race items. Get Gigi up and ready to go.
7:00 am - Drive to start line
7:10 am - Begin dynamic stretching routine
7:15 am - Run 3 miles of warm-up. Pace will be held at very easy from miles 0-2 (around 9:11-9:47). Mile 3 will incorporate some strides to begin to wake up the muscles. Strides will last 10-30 seconds in duration and are to be no faster than expected race pace (6:55 min/mile). Before the next stride begins my breathing and heart rate must return to normal.
7:45 am - Begin pre-cooling procedure. Rub ice on head, neck, torso, and arms. Place a cooling towel with ice on head.
8:10 am - Run some very easy pace with a couple of strides mixed in. Reinvigorating the muscles.
8:20 am - Ingest 10 oz of slushy ice water (or an ice pop) and consume an E-Gel.
8:25 am - Remove water bottle from ice chest and head to the start line
8:30 am - Race begins

The one change I would make is not standing at the start line so long. I should have hung out in the shade for just a smidge longer.

Toed the line with the other runners and started to guess ages and abilities. I could quickly see I was in and around my goal of top 5.

Mile 1 - 6:47 min/mile

The goal was to count the number of people that headed out in front of me. This was done so I could get a quick estimate on my ability to hit my goal of top 5/ top 3 age. At first count, there were 6 people ahead of me. Based on the cadence and labor of effort I could tell 2 of them were going out way too fast. I dropped the first of those two around mile 0.5. Now in 6th place. I had a feeling I was going a little too hard, but I liked the pace. We turned to start running in the opposite direction and BAM there was the sun. The predicted temp was 65-70 for the race, but it looks like it ended up being 75-80 with a touch of humidity. I was happy how the race was going at this point. Saw my wife and Gigi for the first time!

Mile 2 - 7:12 min/mile

Hit the first water station and doused myself in the whole cup. This is where the race started to change. Right after the 1 mile mark, I could see the few runners in front of me taking a left turn. EXCEPT that we weren't suppose to turn there... I started yelling up to the front group which was led by a pace bike that they were headed the wrong way. To no avail, they headed the wrong direction except for one runner that stopped and headed back to us. This is the second race that I've had to yell to other runners that they were going the wrong way. And again this took a lot of energy to yell mid-race. I really should stop helping others because it effects my race, but in the end it's the right thing to do. Right after this I started to develop a small cramp in my stomach. We did end up converging with the other runners after 0.3 miles or so, so whatever the cut distance it was likely minimal. Hit another aid station and doused myself in water again. At the mile 2 marker I got passed by another runner. Now in 7th place. He was to be the last runner allowed to pass me.

Mile 3 - 7:37 min/mile

This was a tad uphill and more full sun. Tried to keep a lasso around the runner who passed me and hold on. I could see up ahead the runner I had tagged as going too fast for himself and could see it was someone I could probably pass. Then came another runner around mile 2.5 that passed me (no shirt). I recognized him as someone in my age group from last year's race photos. So I knew he was likely now in 3rd place in age. I knew that if I was going to finish top 3 in age and top 5 overall I could not let him run away. Now in 8th place. So I quickly tucked behind him and just kept pushing. This is where the race changed for me. It became a race to the finish. I knew I couldn't let no shirt get too far so I just tried to become his shadow. This is where I ran out of the water in my water bottle. I knew I was going to have to make it about 1 mile without any more water and tried to power through.

Mile 4 - 7:29 min/mile

We finally hit a downhill! Thank goodness! No shirt was slightly taller than me and had a longer stride. So he extended his lead on me slightly during the downhill. I took a quick glance behind and saw no one. So I knew it was going to be me and him to the finish. As we started to merge with the part of the course we've done before we started to hit the back of the 5k pack. No issues running along side them as there was plenty of road for everyone. Came up on the other tagged runner who was pushing too hard early in the race and passed him. Now I saw my wife and daughter around 3.9 miles again. Thankfully she had my replacement water bottle and it was AMAZING! Drank some, poured some, drank some, poured LOTS. Hit another aid station and just kept pouring it on. I started to feel a lot better and tried to hold the pace. No shirt was still ahead but not by much and I felt like I was gaining.

Mile 5 - 7:31 min/mile

Just keep no shirt in view. Just keep him only a few steps ahead. Keep pushing, try to gain on him... At mile 4.6, we finally hit another aid station and doused myself AGAIN. Just kept trying to stay cool. This is where I made my move. Now no shirt and I were running side-by-side. We kept dodging 5k runners, but at no point was it a problem. I intentionally starting holding back just a touch. I wanted him to try and hold on to me thinking this was all I had left. I wanted to save a final hammer move with the hopes of dropping him. So the run changed from run your fastest, to beat no shirt! Now in 6th place after passing no shirt.

Mile 6 - 7:28 min/mile

This was the final hill in the race. I knew I needed to drop him otherwise we would just shadow each other to the finish. As we almost reached the apex of the hill another 10k runner came flying by. I was like whoa when did we pass this guy? I didn't ever realize we'd passed him, but as soon as he passed me I quickly tied myself to him and PUSHED. I was apparently in 5th, but now I'm actually in 6th again. As we reached the top of the hill I knew this is where the race was going to be made. I needed to keep the hammer down because no shirt has a longer stride and showed earlier in the race he was a better downhill runner. I kept taking small glances over my left shoulder to judge his distance and each time realized he was MY SHADOW. I STILL hadn't dropped him. He'd covered my move and my downhill. So we hit mile 5.7 I threw down another hammer. According to Garmin my pace dropped down to a 5:33 min/mile. After the final surge to the mile 6 marker I took a quick glance over my left shoulder and he was no where to be seen. OR SO I THOUGHT..... In 6th place with a presumed 3rd place in age group????!?!??!?!?

Mile 6.2 - 5:33 min/mile

The final sprint. I was giving it everything I had. Just me and 200m separated me from the 6th place overall and 3rd place bobble head fireman trophy. The final 200m as told by pictures...

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Yep.... That's me getting out kicked in the last 200m of the race. I thought I had him, but he was sneaky. He was on my right shoulder not my left shoulder. Every time I looked back in the last mile he was always on my left. He switched it up and passed me on the right. Completely unexpected and explains why I didn't see him in that last glance at mile 6 marker.

Final time - 44:31 (a new PR by 4 seconds over the last 6.2 in my half marathon in December). Given the temp/humidity, I am super happy with this time.

Gave everyone their congrats and then just anxiously waited to see the results posted. AND GUESS WHAT???? I finished in 6th place. I finished 3rd in my age group!!! WOOT WOOT!

Wait..... what's that..... there isn't anyone listed DIRECTLY ahead of me finishing within 3-4 seconds of me. Where is no shirt? Since it's a gun timed start it means that if he just passed me at the end he should definitely be listed right there. So I waited, and waited. And then I saw him and went up to no shirt. I said you're not on the finishers list. I said your bib must not have registered and that he should talk to the race director. They took his info and told him they'd fix it for him later that day. I told him if they gave me the 3rd place trophy for 30-39 I'd give it to him because he definitely beat me.

Here are some final pics:

Me and Gigi at the finisher's area!

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Me with the 30-39 bobble head fireman trophy. Actually one of the best trophies I've ever seen.

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Me and Gigi posing with the trophy for official pics.

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AND me and no shirt as I gave him the 3rd place trophy for 30-39.

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While I'm disappointed he beat me I felt it was the right thing to do to give him the trophy. He earned it and he beat me fair and square. It was SOOO hard to give it up because it was an awesome trophy, but honestly I never hesitated because in the end I would hope that someone else if the roles were reversed would do the same.

So let's review the goals:

Goals
1) Top 5
2) Top 3 in age group (30-39)
3) Finish my 10K faster than my mother finish her 5K.
4) Allow no one to pass me after mile 2

Well, so I actually missed on all 4 goals. I finished in 7th place, 4th in my age group, my mom beat me by about 50 seconds (so much for taking it easy...), and I got passed by one person after mile 2 (no shirt). You'd think I would be sad, but I'm not. I actually had a lot of fun and got the exact race I wanted. ME vs ANOTHER RUNNER throughout the whole race. He beat me, but that's ok because I said I'd see him next year.

BTW, the 1st and 2nd overall were only separated by 1.2 seconds. The high school kid out kicked the seasoned runner at the line. Pretty cool!

Oh and I did get to celebrate with my FAVORITE DOUGHNUT! An apple fritter from the local bakery. It IS AMAZING!!!! YUM! YUM! YUM! Don't worry I didn't eat the whole thing. Learned that the hard way last year.

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Happy Father's Day!

Nice race and congrats on the PR!. Very classy move to give the guy the trophy as well. Runners are great folks.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Nice race and congrats on the PR!. Very classy move to give the guy the trophy as well. Runners are great folks.

Thanks! Just have to beat him fair and square next year! Only way I'll feel as if I earned that trophy.

 

[dis_or_dat]

Great recap and congrats on the PR! I was on the edge of my seat! Amazing time, especially with that heat.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Great recap and congrats on the PR! I was on the edge of my seat! Amazing time, especially with that heat.

Thanks, I appreciate that! I tried to relive the moment as best I could remember. Definitely happy with the performance. This morning (65) just reminded me what a difference running in cooler temps feels like as the 8:13 felt like a breeze. Such a difference!

 

[CheapRunnerMike]

Awesome recap Honey-Blaser. That fritter looks amazing...I may schedule a Wisconsin race just to get one of those doughnuts!

Really solid race on a hot day...it is always fun to go mano a mano with another runner, but I wonder if you let it get in your head a little bit when you were trying to shadow him? I know when I come up on another runner that I am racing against (again, the beauty of triathlons...your age is markered on your calf) I like to blow past them. That way they have a choice to try and keep up and potentially blow up or let you go. Just my two cents.

PR'ing a 10K at the end of June is a massive accomplishment...shows the gains you are making and proving that all your hard work is paying off.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Awesome recap Honey-Blaser. That fritter looks amazing...I may schedule a Wisconsin race just to get one of those doughnuts!

Really solid race on a hot day...it is always fun to go mano a mano with another runner, but I wonder if you let it get in your head a little bit when you were trying to shadow him? I know when I come up on another runner that I am racing against (again, the beauty of triathlons...your age is markered on your calf) I like to blow past them. That way they have a choice to try and keep up and potentially blow up or let you go. Just my two cents.

PR'ing a 10K at the end of June is a massive accomplishment...shows the gains you are making and proving that all your hard work is paying off.

The fritter is a must if you're in the area. We actually reserved one about a week ago because they typically sell out at like 6am on Father's Day weekend. So delicious!

Thanks! It's completely possible that he was in my head more than I in his. He was the one trying to open the gap on me at mile 2.5 It took a lot of effort from me to stay with him from mile 2.5 to 5. And that was me being anywhere from shadow to 50 meters behind. Once I finally caught him heading into mile 5 is when I tried to dictate the pace a little slower. Can't say for sure whether it was him already slowing down and me catching him, or me running faster and then slowing down once I caught him. But he definitely outsmarted me in the last few meters. Once we were head to head I tried to make several moves to shake him by dramatically increasing the pace, but it seemed like each time I did that he covered the move and increased his pace as well. Since this was my first experience in a race like this I think I learned a lot. I know if I see him again next year I'll definitely change my strategy up to something like you suggest. Stay behind him at the beginning of the race and then make my move earlier (around mile 4) with the hopes of putting some serious distance between me and his downhill running/superior kick. Since we both live in the same city as the race I'm sure we'll see each other again. Another benefit I'll have is that I plan to do more 5K/10K training next Spring so I should be better prepared for the effort necessary to race a 10K.

Thanks! Completely agree that a PR in June heat is a definite feather in the cap, and add in that while not totally hilly it was definitely not pancake flat either. The next two best 10K performances are 44:57 at Disney in January 2016 and 44:36 during my December 2015 half marathon (second half of race). But the December half marathon conditions were near perfect for me (flat course and 30 degrees).

Now with the 10K behind me I'm ready to kick this training plan into high gear. This is where the real fun starts as I hit 13 straight weeks of 60+ miles of running starting next week (57.25 this week), or in terms I like to do it in 8 hours and 45 minutes or more of running for 13 straight weeks. I'm super stoked to see what I can do on a more maximal training plan, but still maintaining a significant chunk (77-85% on a weekly basis) of the training at MP + 40 seconds or slower. I'm excited to keep proving that I'll do what is necessary to get what I want!

 

[CheapRunnerMike]

It's actually fun to have some local running rivals...I was a chronic 4th place finisher for the longest time and I knew who the guys ahead of me were. When I finally broke through I remember running with one of the guys for a little stretch and he introduced himself...I said, "I know who you are...you're the guy that's always one spot ahead of me" Hansons cured me of the 4th place fever though, was the bump I needed to get podium spots! Don't think I didn't notice that singlet you were wearing...

 

[DopeyBadger]

It's actually fun to have some local running rivals...I was a chronic 4th place finisher for the longest time and I knew who the guys ahead of me were. When I finally broke through I remember running with one of the guys for a little stretch and he introduced himself...I said, "I know who you are...you're the guy that's always one spot ahead of me" Hansons cured me of the 4th place fever though, was the bump I needed to get podium spots! Don't think I didn't notice that singlet you were wearing...

Yep, I feel like I've got the same thing brewing with this guy. Gotta wonder what was going through that other guys head when you said that to him.

Someone actually came up and asked me where I got the Hansons singlet. Had to break his heart and tell him they weren't for sale any more where I got mine and that they had a new design now. We both agreed we like the classic design better. I have to represent the track club that got me to where I am today. I plan to make a small homage to them on my custom singlet whenever I get around to finishing up the design because they gave me that push that I've always been looking for.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Some more pics from this weekend's Hot2Trot 10K race!

Kid in the light blue beat the guy in the green by 1.2 seconds for 1st place!


And we're off!


This was around mile 4.5 when I had almost caught no shirt!



No shirt just beating me out. You can see me in the background.


Funny looking face.


Another of me and Gigi!


Also a cropped of one from before that a co-worker pointed out shows the moment I realized no shirt was going to beat me. NOOOOO......

 

[DopeyBadger]

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