Oak Park Gobble Gobble Gallup 5K

A nice flat course through Shepherd Park. A decent 5K route, three loops around the park and ice rink. Given that it's also a 5K walk, you never run out of people to pass.

Temp: 42 degrees F
Time: 8:30 AM

Finish: 18:29 (2nd overall) 5:56 per mile pace.

I decided to go out at a comfortable pace, not overextending my ability. I'm not quite sure what the splits were, but I'm comfortable saying that my first mile was the slowest, and the last was the fastest mile. Definitely an improvement over last year's 21:00 finish.

Rochester Bloomer Park 5K

Location: Rochester's Bloomer Park.

Course: Bloomer Park, known for hills was definitely a challenge, even though it was only 5K.

Temp: 40 degrees F
Time: 8:30AM

Finish: 19:21 (2nd Overall)

The first mile is nice, half is downhill, then you have a 90 degree turn, and another to return back up the same hill. In perspective of the rest of the course, that first hill starts to look like it's all flat. The best part of this race was knowing that I was only .1 miles from the winner, and had been sick just 2 days beforehand. With more consistent training, and better health, it would have been an interesting finish.

Hazel Park 5K

Course: You can't get any flatter than this. Basically a big rectangle with a few turns here and there to make it 5K. The best part is the finish on the track.

Finish: 13th overall, 18:08 (5:50 per mile pace)

At the start of the race I was really afraid that although I felt great just 6 days after the marathon, I was going to put myself into a world of hurt if I pushed myself. When I saw that I was comfortably within reach of the lead group about 1/4 mile into the race, I knew I was going too fast. There were a few people that I could key off of, and keep myself honest at the same time. I backed off to a more reasonable pace, or at least I thought so. Up until this point, the best first mile in any race I had run was 5:55 or thereabouts. I came through the first mile in an astounding 5:45. Definitely too fast. But I was feeling great, and didn't want to back down too much. I passed a few more people, kept good form, and tried to do some calculations in my head to help pass the time. If you run, you know what I mean. You go through all the possible "If I run the next half in 2:50, I can relax the following half, and then bring it home in XX:XX". Mile 2 was 5:50. 11:35 overall, probably 18th place at this point. Worked my way up to next few people, and entered the track area with two guys in front. The "announcer" chose to put my name on the PA system for people to cheer on...giving me that little extra boost of energy to finish the last 300 in 50 seconds, give or take 5 seconds. Felt great afterwards, cooled down with 2.5 miles along side Sheen and David Watkins...great people, get to know them if you get the chance.

The worries about post Chicago were definitely put to rest.

The Last Long Run

Detroit Zoo
Originally uploaded by Auberon.

September 16th, 2007 19.4 miles before 9:30AM
Executive Summary
10.1 mile warm up
5K "race", last mile was 5:40 to put me at 20:28 (14 seconds slower than when I actually raced it last year.)
10K fun run, Greg B and I ran together starting from the back of the entire pack, picking people off the entire time. We started off with a 9:00 mile, and finished with a sub 7 mile, to finish in 45:07 overall (7:17 pace)

The boring details:
In order to reclaim the majority of my day, I had to rise out of bed by 5:30 AM and go through my usual routine of over-analyzing every detail of my run for the day, down to feel of the stitching inside of my socks. How much fluid do I take in before I start running? How much and when do I eat before the run? I've currently found that I feel the best if I consume as much water as possible the day before I have a long run, and then the morning of the run distribute two bottles of an electrolyte-based beverage into my running belt, with any excess fluids remaining consumed 20 minutes before the run. Breakfast consists of two small homemade waffles containing chocolate chips consumed approximately 45 minutes before running. Just before running, a handful of "sports jelly beans" and water. The running belt also has a front pocket which holds another packet of the jelly beans, and a back pocket for another just in case.

Needless to say, my main concerns going into Chicago are the following:

1. Following proper pace (6:51.8 to 7:15 range assumption)
I've trained slightly faster than 6:51.8 so that when the time comes, 6:51 doesn't feel like maximum controlled effort, rather it feels more like a stroll through the park. 7:15 per mile merely represents the upper limit of my crash and burn yet still qualify for Boston pace.

2. Am I ready for 6:51 over the course of 26 miles? Just this past weekend I easily hit 6:33 pace for 10 on Saturday, and then averaged 7:19 for just over 19 miles and am completely recovered (no signs of fatigue that I can feel) as of Monday night. Do these runs and the fast recovery afterwards translate into a faster pace over a longer distance? I hope so.

3. Proper hydration: Do I go with the belt? Prior to switching to the belt all my long runs left me feeling exhausted and sore, and recovery took longer. Once I switched to the belt those problems went away. The problem with the belt is that it feels like it weighs 10 pounds.

4. Proper Attire :my shorts keep pulling UP.....way way up. I think it might have something to do with the aforementioned running belt. If I don't reach back about every half mile, it looks like I'm a female triathlete just out of the water. When the shorts aren't being pulled up, they're rubbing my inner thighs in a weird way, creating some major friction. I'm currently sporting an abrasion that looks like purple cabbage. Thanks to the good folks over at Dermoplast, I have no feeling of said abrasion. I won't be sporting any personal tunes (against the rules I guess), so I won't have to worry about creating ANOTHER friction point on my right lat. Do I go with the longsleeve Runderwear top? I barely noticed I was wearing it when it got warm out, but thank god I was wearing it for the first run of the day. I left the house prior to sunrise, when the temp was still 40 degrees. I'm just afraid of overexhaustion and dehydration during 26 miles. 7:20 pace in 40 degree weather is a lot different than 6:50 pace in 60 degree weather. I guess I'll just go and be prepared for any and all weather conditions.

Racing flats: I'm on the lower threshold of needing to change my racing flats. Do I change them now, or wait until after the marathon? If I don't make it to the carpet when we're crossing the Chicago river, I know I'm going to wish I had.

1st Half: I'm supposed to come through at about 1:29:57 or slightly slower. What do I do if I'm barrelling through at 1:27:30 or something even faster? Is there a way to make some of the middle miles recovery miles without sacrificing good form and proper pacing? If I'm in a groove do I go with it and then fight off any impending fatigue near the 20 mile mark? I think sticking to these early splits will be the most important factor in successfully running negative splits

5K: 21:20
10K : 42:40
15K: 1:04:00
20K: 1:25:30


Good Luck to everyone running Chicago this year.

Chicago Marathon - Week 2

06/10/07 - Easy 10 miler, 7:40 pace (probably too fast)
06/12/07 - Easy 5K 23 mins
06/13/07 - Easy 8K 35 mins
06/14/07 - Easy 5K 21 mins (last mile was 5:28, just to get the cobwebs out)
06/16/07 - 5 Miler, 6:30 pace (pushed it a bit too much I think, but felt fine.)

Total Weekly Mileage: 27.2 miles
Increase from last week: 10 miles
Long Run: 10 miler
Total Marathon Training Mileage (MTM): 44.4 miles

Chicago Marathon - Week 1

6/04/07 - Easy 5K, roughly 25 mins, ran with daughter in jogging stroller(JS).
6/06/07 - 8K with son in the JS, 7:30 pace
6/07/07 - Eask 5K, 21:30 roughly
6/09/07 - 5 mile pace, sub 6:30 pace...too fast for marathon race pace

Total Weekly Mileage: 17.2 miles
Increase from last week: -9.8 miles
Long Run: 5 miler
Total Marathon Training Mileage (MTM): 17.2 miles

Dodge Park 5K (June 1st)

This was an interesting race. The sun was beating down on everyone, and the humidity made it feel like someone was squeezing your lungs. I guess when a fun run has an ambulance stationed at the finish line, you kind of know what to expect for that day.

Cutting to the chase:

Mile 1: 5:49, felt great, but knew I wouldn't hold that pace for the entire time, immediately backed off.

Mile 2: 6:22 I guess I backed off a lot. Felt great, but realized this pace wasn't going to get me a gold medal (not that they were giving those out)

Mile 3: 6:08 Felt nice, the heat and humidity bore down on everyone, so all times were slow.

Overall time: 19:08 (no sprint to the finish, just kept last mile pace going)

Not a bad time considering all the heavy lifting performed the day before helping Jim move his stuff. Actually I don't think any of that had an effect on me. It was a great race overall, a nice way to end my short distance season....marathon training starts Monday.

Grosse ILE 8K - 31:39

Grosse ILE 8K
Originally uploaded by Auberon.

May 28, 2007 @ 9:00AM

Warmed up with the 1 Mile fun run, and added two laps on the track.

Mile 1: 5:58
Went out what felt to be a comfortable pace. Looked up ahead and could still see the Hansons Guys, so I knew I was probably going a little too fast, and backed down just before hitting the mile mark. I know I'm in much better shape than I have been in three years, but I'm not sub 6 yet....I'm getting there.

Mile 2: 6:25 Much more comfortable at this pace. Where the first mile had a decent hill on it, mile 2 was much flatter and pretty much a straight shot, felt I could have run this pace for 10K.

Mile 3: 6:23 Some slight up and down, with twists and turns, trying to stay settled into a nice routine, nothing hard about this mile, just running nice and relaxed and remembering to keep my stride open.

Mile 4: 6:37 Somewhere in here there's 3 or 4 bigger hills on a single track inside the woods, with a really steep downhill that could hammer your quads if you let it, followed up with a gradual uphill the rest of the way to the marker.

to the Finish: 6:13 Nothing special here, it equates to roughly 6:24/mile pace. There's about 1/2 of one mile that is a gradual incline, but nothing to cry about. Myself and two other guys finished together, separated by 1.6 seconds in total. I thought I'd have a sprint for the finish, but with the heat and the refusal of all drink stations (I think there were 7 stations) I pretty much had a strong stride out, and not much more.

This was the first time I raced twice in one weekend.
5K in 19:26 (missed PR by 34 seconds) and 8K in 31:39 (PR by 40 seconds)...overall very happy with the results.

This coming weekend will be the Dodge Park 5K. I plan on going out 6:10 in the first mile, 6:10 in the second mile, and then see if I can run as hard as possible through the finish. This race will mark the end of my spring/summer racing season. June 3rd marks the beginning of my marathon training.

Rochester Heritage 5K

Rochester Heritage 5K
Originally uploaded by Auberon.

The first mile is predominantly uphill. It shouldn't be taken lightly. Within the first quarter mile you reach a monster of hill, and then come upon a false sense of security. As you turn the corner it has a slight downhill, only to be followed by another 1/2 mile of uphill running. My first mile I purposely attacked knowing that I would need to recover during the second mile.

The second mile has almost no hill running in it, and is the reason for my slow time in the 5K today. I went through the first mile in 6:10, and walked the second mile in a time of 6:40. Was the 6:40 necessary? Absolutely not, but the past is the past, and I have only next year to look forward to.

Mile 3 was all about picking the pace up and making sure that I didn't fall. Running with racing flats on a course that just experienced heavy ran doesn't exactly give you the greatest of footing. This year the course didn't have the same traffic problems that I experienced last year. Perhaps it was the result of running faster. It is odd to see people dressed up like Civil War Veterans walking toward you as you're trying your best to keep good form and keep pushing the pace.

As I'm winding around the library parking lot, I realize that the guy in front of me is easily catchable if I decide to turn the jets on...but he slips just a little and I decide I'm not going to chance taking a fall like he almost did. He finished in 19:21, and I finished in 19:26. I estimate that my time would have been 19:15 had I decided to give the sprint a try. It wasn't worth it today, and I don't really care.

I took 4th in my age group, losing the coveted third place ribbon to the same guy that I didn't sprint in against. I think I was 8th overall, with the winning time being 16:20ish.

Perhaps not sprinting in was just a way for me to reserve the real sprint for a race that I've been contemplating, the Grosse Ile 8K, which takes place on Monday. I could sneek under the illusive 32:00 I've been hoping to reach prior to the start of my marathon training program.

That starts June 3rd....Chicago '07 goal: between 2:59:58 and 3:10:59 (6:51 and 7:15 per mile pace)

Rochester Heritage 5K

Last year's time was 21:02

It would be nice to take at least one minute off of that time, if not two. This coming Saturday should be a good test of where I'm at physically. I intend on pushing myself HARD the first mile and as hard as possible the last mile. If I can hold on to a decent pace I'll be happy. If I can go 6:00, 6:05, 5:30, I'll be a happy camper. Those splits would give me a real chance at sprinting in to a sub 18 time. I've already hit my goal of sub 19 for 2007. I've only got two more legitimate races before I effectively cut myself off from 5K training. Then it's backing off to 6:20 pace for my speed work, and 7:20 pace or slower for my everyday runs. Tempo runs will be at 6:50. The goal is to be ready for 6:52 pace for Chicago, but build in 7:15 recovery pace, to ensure that I make my BQ.

That all starts the week of June 3rd.

Cranbrook "5K"

The Cranbrook 5K, where last year I posted a 21:28 in much worse shape, was supposed to be a breakthrough race this time around. I figured if I could only run just under a 7min pace last year, with all the work I've put in, I'd be able to at least hit 6:30 pace or better.

The first bad sign: I forgot my racing flats. I made up my mind that racing flats weren't actually necessary, just a creature comfort that I could do without. I had myself convinced that the soles on my Axiom IIs were far superior to those of the Racer STs. It is, afterall, a real cross country race.

For most of the first mile I'm in second place, just about 10-15 seconds behind some short and skinny guy with long hair. I have no idea who he is, and had no idea what to expect out of him. I could have stayed with him for the first two miles, but I knew that a lot of the better runners use the first mile as a sort of warm up, and I wasn't really in the mood to be torn up by a really good runner. At the mile marker I check my watch: 5:53.... the fastest split I've read since the early to mid 90's. I'm feeling great at this point and I'm wondering when things are going to fall apart. Just as a precaution, I slow down to what I think is roughly 6:10 pace and I attempt to hold that through the remainder of the event. I was pushing myself up the hills, and trying to fly down the hills during the recovery. There were a few areas where I followed cones that I shouldn't have...but by this time, with all the twists and turns, I was alone, still in second place and virtually no one on the course to tell me where to go. Running down Lone Pine you make a sharp left followed by an immediate right onto the trail. This is supposed to be the exact spot of the 2 mile. I know I didn't go 7:00 for mile number 2, but I wasn't about to argue with myself at that point in the game, I just picked up the pace and attacked the course, remembering that it was about 3/4s of a mile either downhill or flat. I ran along Cranbrook Road and turned back towards Cranbrook house until we reached the end of the path, turning left after stopping to try and figure out why I wasn't being directed straight ahead (no thanks to the course marshals)...circling back to Cranbrook house, following the residential path to the waterfall near the Art Museum reflecting pools, cut back to the trail from which we came, turn left and go up the hill (the only part where I might have actually gone 6:45 pace), cut left to the sundial, cut right to the twisty road that exits from the science museum, fly down that road, turn right, ignore the last water station, turn left, another left...400 meters to go, 90 seconds later I'm finishing...........IN FIRST PLACE!!!

My official time: 24:15
two misdirections: 15 seconds in wasted time
total distance of the 5K: at least 3.96 according to 4 independent GPS owners
Pace: roughly 6:00
How I felt: Like I actually pushed myself the entire time.

FIRST PLACE!

Motor City Striders 1 mile and 10K

I had no idea what kind of "mile" shape I was in, so I thought it would be best to get out there and test things out.

The first "lap" was around the Berkley High track, then you exit the track and go to the parking lot, swing right and straight down...to no one...then a car came flying up, a guy jumps out of the car, and yells "Around ME!"...that was apparently the half. A quick look at my watch, it's 2:37 and I don't feel like I'm dead. Shocking isn't it? If I kept that up, I'd run 5:14. Then we turned around after nearly coming to a stop, and headed back to to the track. We came in to the track and I purposely held back without ever picking it up, fading to a 5:34 according to my watch. That's a 2:57 last half. It felt like 2:57...SLOW. I didn't push, and I certainly didn't try to get after the two guys in front of me. I'm dead certainly I would have toasted the guy a few seconds ahead of me. Had I gone when I was supposed to, first place would have been mine, and a decent 5:14 would have been wrapped up.

The 10K was run as if I were out for a stroll. The first 5K I came through at 21:46...just above 7:00/mi pace. I saw T. Rizer ahead in the distance, so I figured she'd probably enjoy the company/help at the end. I picked up the pace just a little and brought her in for the last mile in about 6:35. My last 5K split was 20:49.

Cinco De Mayo 8K(+)

So the Cinco De Mayo 8K race was supposed to be an attempt to dip under 32:00 for the first time this year. That was the plan going in anyways.

Due to some "minor course changes" related to some requests by the Detroit Police, the course was changed to what they thought would be exactly 8K. Let's just say that next year they should really think about using more than 3 course marshals and maybe using the measuring wheel to bring back down to 8K.

The race was supposed to start at 10:30AM. There WAS a strong wind at our backs for 35 minutes, and the race was point to point...the temperature was cool, you couldn't ask for better conditions. 11:15AM and the motorcycle police finally stop showing us that they can do figure 8's with their bikes. Oh yeah, the wind has now shifted to directly in our face, and it's steady at about 25mph. A great time to start the race...after the perfect conditions are gone.

Within the first mile, I knew there wouldn't be any splits given at mile markers, but hoped that at least if there were markers, they would be accurate. The only marker I saw was the 3 and 4, 19:10 and 25:35 respectively. Before the 3 we turned off Vernor and headed in the direction that a course marshal pointed. Unfortunately only a few of us turned the wrong way. It added about 400meters to the run. Imagine running two legs of equilateral triangle only to find out that everyone else behind this group went straight along the base...which was the right way to go. 2.5 laps around this block and you were finished....the first lap wasn't very promising.

Lap two was just as exciting. The parade that was to follow immediately after the race started drawing a large crowd. This large crowd wanted their spot along the parade route...aka, the race route. Imagine lots of folding chairs, kids wagons, and people that don't realize their are in the way. Not so much fun if you're the runner that doesn't like hurting innocent people. There were at least 4 occasions where I needed to come to a complete stop because of people/cars/wagons/bikes...

blah blah blah

at the end of the race this guy looks over at me and gives me the signal that he wants to go, I signal it's okay for him to take off. We've got about 150 left, and he's not going to make it in, based on the way I hear him breathing. I give him three seconds and then I take off after him. I fly past him and cruise in to a 32:36 for the "8K". Mapping it out it came out to 5.25 miles with the misdirection. Considering the wind, the crowds, the misdirection, I still consider the run a good time. It was only 16 seconds slower than Chicago's Shamrock Shuffle, and I know that course is accurate.

Bottom Line: I'm in much better shape now. Things are going well.

Macomb Orchard Blossom

Macomb Orchard Blossom
Originally uploaded by Auberon.

Pros: Great weather
Cons: Entire route uphill, albeit gradual

Last year the race was 4 miles. The temperature was decidedly different. Strong wind in the face and 28 degrees. This year the race was half a mile longer and the temperature was at least 60 degrees by the finish, if not 65. The race was made half a mile longer so that starting line could have more than 4 people standing in front. One quarter of a mile would give people plenty of time to thin out before we entered the Macomb Orchard Trail.

I had intentions of running 27:30 or faster. I guess that wasn't going to happen. Not this year. Reason? I was a completely lazy sloth.

Mile 1: 6:24 with John Nemens calling off splits, yelling at me that it looks like an old man out for a Sunday stroll in the park.

Mile 2: 6:30
Mile 3: 6:43
Mile 4: 6:39
Last 1/2: 2:51

I don't remember picking up the pace in that last half. I don't know where my brain was the entire race. I didn't push myself. My legs were fresh the entire race. I didn't have a problem breathing at all. Everyone who knows me said it looked like I was out for a jog that day. Why would I do that? I guess it just wasn't supposed to happen for me.

On a more positive note, I intend on making that 27:30 next year, and then some. If I train smart for the marathon, with maximum efficiency, I'll have my BQ for 08/09 and will be able to take my running to the next level. I know I have the speed for 6:00 pace. It's just a matter of conditioning. I'll have that conditioning soon enough. I should be proud, averaging less than 20 miles per week the past year I've turned in some great times.

It's going to be 80 outside today. Why am I still indoors?

Hansons 5K - 18:53

Hansons 5K
Originally uploaded by Auberon.

Pros: Fast and flat, great weather, excellent field of runners
Cons: 15 90 degree turns

First I'll start off by posting my times from 2005 and 2006: 23:05 and 22:12 respectively. Each of these races were within the first two weeks of starting the running season. Generally speaking I stopped running the second the marathon was done the previous fall.

Today was different. I came into this race having already run 4 other road races this year, and only had two weeks where I considered them "downtime".

From the start of the race, I knew it was going to be fast. I was with Laura Murphy at the first half. That's not usually the case. 20 seconds later Danielle Hobbs cruised past me. Both of these athletes are usually far far ahead of me from the get go. Paul Ballinger and I were pretty much running side by side getting into a comfortable groove. If I'm running with this group of guys/girls, I know I'm going to run a great time (for me).

Mile 1 split: 6:04 (felt like 6:35 effort)

From the first mile there were a lot of breaks in the pack, and you either settle in to your own pace, or you keep pushing and hope to catch the next guy...that's what this day was going to be about. For the next mile, Paul and I worked together to drawn the next guy in, take him down, and keep moving on.

Mile 2 split 6:06

Paul would get tired, I would push the pace. I would slack off, Paul would push. We switched back and forth probably 6 times. I was getting really tired just before the 3 mile mark, where Chris Giannetti and Paul surged past me and started to break away. Was I going to fall apart? I had to dig deep. My arms started to get tight, and my breathing was getting rough. I only had a little more to go, I couldn't give up and coast in....

3 mile split 6:10 (faded, but not too much)

You hit the 3 mile mark, and there's one corner to take and then you're about 90 meters from the finish line. I wasn't going to let Christ and Paul toast me with less than a 1/4...I turned that corner, took a deep breathe, and dropped the hammer, sort of. I turned in a 29 second last .1............ the picture above shows Paul in the yellow shirt just behind me and Chris in the long sleeve black shirt to the right of me.

18:53.... I don't know what has happened, but I'm started to make some great progress this year towards realizing a true return to running. If I can keep up this pace of improvement, I'd say that some time next year running in the 17s would be quite possible.

Chicago sub 3hr???????

Shamrock Shuffle

Shamrock Shuffle
Originally uploaded by Auberon.

11:00 AM Saturday morning, I'm fooling around trying to get my daughter to say goodbye to me before my flight out to Chicago. She shuts me down...Wonder Pets is on, the rest of the world is tuned out.

11:15 AM I'm walking around CVS looking for nothing in particular, find my way to the counter with some gum and some rasberry-flavored water.

12:30 PM I arrive at Detroit Metro (DTW), park in the Big Blue, and wait for the parking shuttle to take me over to the Mac terminal.

12:59 PM Walk to the Smith Terminal (about 600 yards), find that the shuttle bus is parked, running, and no one is around. Find other shuttle buses that keep pointing me to the empty shuttle...explain to the last guy that I've been waiting far too long, he offers his assistance...I'm off to the Mac thanks to George. Thank God I checked in at home for my 1:40 flight.

1:15 PM Get through the strip search without issue, walk to Gate A 53, only to find that there's a "Delayed" displayed under my flight number. Apparently there's some fog in Minneapolis, and the pilots can't see well enough to take off.

3:45 PM I'm watching the last few bags get packed on to the plane...the luggage guy is smashing these things as hard as he can. I'm so glad I didn't bring the fine china.

4:00 PM (time zone change) I'm on the blue line, it's going A LOT slower than what I'm used to. I've got 19 stops to sit through...this better not take too long.

5:30 PM Finally reach Monroe...I've got 30 minutes to check in, dump the bag, and haul ass over to Navy Pier for my race packet.

5:40 PM Oh good...free upgrade to executive suite, but that means instead of 8th floor, I'm on 22...and I have 20 minutes to get upstairs, get back down, and over to the Pier.

5:45 PM Back out on the street, the free transport over to Navy Pier has stopped. I've got less than 15 to get from State and Lake to NP.
I'm now in running mode. I'd guess I was going at an 8min/mile pace. I was beating the traffic. Apparently people in Chicago can't drive when the fog rolls in. (They can't drive in Detroit either, so shut up...see my other blog concerning that topic)

6:02 PM They're starting to wrap everything up, the carpet is being rolled up, and the doors are starting to close. I'm pissed off, I'm sweating my ass off, and I'm getting my race packet.

6:20 PM I'm sitting inside Morton's Steakhouse (near Wacker and Wabash). Eventually I'm downing Cajun Prime Rib, roughly 20 OZ.

Blah Blah Blah

6:00 AM Sunday Morning
I'm up and getting ready. Every runner goes through his little routine. Mine is to get up and stretch, walk around shaking my legs, stretch some more, pretend I'm not going to do anything later that day, stretch, take a shower, stretch, etc....

8:00 AM Convince my friends it's time to go, that I need to be down on the streets getting myself ready physically and mentally.

8:30 AM 2.5 mile warm-up, I don't know why so much, but it felt good, and I needed to relax.

9:00 AM I've got Corral A assignment, and I'm wearing Hansons Gear, more than 5 people somehow confuse me for the real deal.
THEY haven't actually arrived to the front line yet. Click Here for their results

9:15 AM No matter how ready you think you are, whatever you're doing, you're jammed in like a sardine, make sure you're facing the right way.

9:30 AM The President and CEO of my company gives us the horn, and we're off....

I'm floating nice and slow, but I'm finding it hard to breathe...my sinus cavities are packed to the brim, and I'm fighting off a terrible cough...I'm not wussing out...I just won't accept being sick today

I think I'm out slow, based on how it feels, but when we start coming down that hill before the left turn on Grand, I can see the clock for the first time. I slow down and make it through Mile 1 @ 6:11

The next mile I'm basically trying to find a decent pace, still push myself, and breathe. I know my friends are going to be around here somewhere...so I better not punk out and look like a little girl. Mile 2 comes through 6:33 for the split. To my friends, they think at this point that I've hit my splits the way that I had intended (6:22 and 12:44 for the 2)...they don't realize that I'm fighting off the urge to go superfast, while trying to figure out how to breathe properly.

Mile 3 I'm still slowing down...what the hell is going on... the split is 6:44

If you're still with me, we're crossing the 5K in 20:13ish, which is technically faster than any 5K I ran last year, in terms of official times.

I'm not doing so well at this point. Everything in my sinus cavity (left side) is starting to pour out into my throat and nose. This is the first time that I'm starting to not like what's going on. I purposely stay focused on someone who seems to be running a perfect pace, let them draw me towards the 4 mile mark.

This is the first of many times that I heard someone yell in my general direction "Cocaine!" I had no idea what they were talking about.

Mile 4 I come through in 6:43...there is no way in hell I'm going to hit the 6:22 pace that I was hoping for. I still managed to pick up the pace and start picking off the people that were dying.

Myself and about 6 other people are working as a group going after the people in front of us, dropping off the people who can't handle the pace for the complete 8K. We turn for the stupid hill that is Roosevelt. I decide to surge just a little to give myself some space from the people I was with, and to get in front of the slow people gasping for air. The idea is that I'll be in recovery near the top of the hill, and have enough to blast home should the need arise. Having put in some 47 sec 400s in college I still have the delusion that I have some speed in my 30s.

I've reached the top of the hill, and a few of the guys that I passed on the way up are starting to sprint already...DUMBASS, see you in a few seconds. It's about 400 meters to the finish, or at least it looks like it from the turn onto Columbus. I'm trying to recover and recharge the batteries before I start giving some sort of effort... I'm not going out like a punk this time.

300m out, a few are starting to pick it up, I open my stride just a little, just to keep some of these guys in check.

200m out, one guy seems hellbent on beating everything in his path, so I figure it's time to tag along for the ride, and see what this guy is made of.

100m out, Every time you want to go, you never know if you have enough, or if you're going to gas out moments before the finish line. I have so much adrenaline at this point that I have enough to run up to Jackson at 80%, or 90% and have a heart attack. Now it's on, there's a race between me and "Cocaine". We take off and are tearing it up, weaving in and out of traffic when we split up. I wasn't really watching where he went, but I really thought he was stuck behind a lot of runners...All I had to do was continue on with my 90% effort and I would "win". I've never lost a sprint-in ever, except that one workout where Darnell Hall (Olympic Gold Medalist from my area) made me his bitch. I certainly wasn't going to let some "cocaine" get in my way. Little did I know this guy also had some wheels.

As with all sprinters, you look over to where you think you're comp will finish. In my world, the chest breaks the plane and you win...but unfortunately in the real world, it's the chip that counts...If I had put that chip on my left shoe my time would have read .04 faster...whatever...he won, I'm glad...but I'll be back next year, and unless he's running under 30:00 minutes, there won't be a rematch.

That of course is all dependent on my ability to keep up my speed, continue to drop my times, while training for the Marathon, raising two kids, taking 3 classes towards the JD/MBA...invent a way to eat healthy quickly....

But seriously, Bib #1268 is an awesome sprinter who officially took me on, and beat me with a better overall time. The challenge is on Mike, I'll be waiting at the corner of Roosevelt and Columbus near the end of March 2008, at about 9:27AM...care to make it a race??

Spring Thaw 5K

Spring Thaw 5K
Originally uploaded by Auberon.

Pros: Nice and flat, out and back with a constant on on the "competition".
Cons: Cold, windy, right on the water

The intention was to get in a nice run with some speed the weekend before the Shamrock Shuffle. I had hoped that I would be right around 6:30 per mile pace. As the race was in Canada, and they don't know how to use the superior system of inches-feet-yards-miles, I knew that the course was not going to be set up with mile markers. That played into my favor, because I would have to force myself to go off of feel and compare that with the ending result. I do have to admit that I have a course set up from my house (out and back) with 1K splits along the way. The Tuesday night Dodge Park group introduced me to that workout, and since then I've tried to know where I'm at, at each 1K split.

As the event was chip timed without a start mat, I knew I'd have to get to the front of the line to ensure I don't give away time due to the lag in reaction time. Even though I was at the front of the line for the start, and even though I felt I had a strong first 50 meters, I'd have to say that I was in 50th place by the first right hand turn onto Riverside Drive. I was already in a comfortable stride by the turn, and was getting passed by and endless number of runners. I've finally been able to control the urge to press harder in the first mile (1.6K) and settle into the proper pace. I didn't know what pace I was at, but I knew that it felt relaxed and easy. I had hoped that I'd be between 4:00 and 4:10 for the first 1K split. This hope was based solely on how I felt effort-wise. Coming through the first marker I checked the watch, 3:54 (rounded up) and I felt like I could have gone about 10 seconds faster at that point. I knew I felt fine, but just to be sure I backed off just a bit. The second split was 4:00 going into the wind, but still felt great.

To give you an idea of how cold it was, the little gatorade cups filled with water were frozen. The water was set up less than one hour before the race, as it was in the middle of the street and couldn't be closed off until the last possible moment.

At this point I could see that the leader was already making his way back towards me. I'm not sure where we crossed, but he had a commanding lead of about 100-200 meters. This is where Nikki Nolte (University of Windsor) passed me. Normally I would have just settled for someone passing me, and having no guts to stay with them, just sort of fade back. Not this time. I stayed with her as we drew in more and more people. At one point, I swear she looked down at her watch and hit another gear, just for a short burst to get away from me. I wasn't going to play the game of never ending windsprints. I knew I had a strong sprint for the finish if it came to it. She was about 30 meters in front of me before she settled back to the same pace, and we went after more people. I hit the next split in 3:55, and the split right after that. No fade, no aggressiveness. Just smart running while teaching my body proper pacing. The last 1K there were about 4 people between myself and Nikki (the only reason I know her name is that so many people were cheering for her). I knew that all of these people were fading hard, so I just settled in and knew I'd take down most of them.
The last stretch I sort of slowed down just to watch a kid spew out his breakfast all over someone's car, and then took off for the finish. A strong finish, but even-paced. The split was 4:01, but the last mile was probably the fastest of the day. I had successfully picked off the people between myself and Nikki, and knew that I could have gone after her and the guys she was pulling in, but saw no reason, so let things finish with a strong stride, not a sprint.

All in all I felt strong and steady. I didn't have any muscular fatigue, and I found a great breathing pattern that seemed to work perfectly.

Finishing time: 19:46 (2004-2007 PR, so far)
Pace: 6:22 per mile, 3:58 per kilometer
Prediction for Shamrock Shuffle: 31:45

To all reading these little running thoughts, good luck on your next race.

Corktown 4 Mile Road Race

Corktown 4 Mile Road Race
Originally uploaded by Auberon.

Great Weather, 45 degrees at the start, 50 near the finish.

Pros: 1608 runners, many of high quality (at least 64 of them)
Cons: Pre-Parade, far too many smokers/drinkers lining the sidewalks.

My overall race strategy this time around was to go out relatively slow and try to gradually pick up my pace within my own limitations. The first mile felt GREAT! 6:24 By this time we're down far enough on Michigan Avenue that we're in the shade of the tall buildings, it got cold right there...head through campus maritius, head north on Woodward and wrap around the front of CoPa, turn back towards HockeyTown/Fox...you're at the two mile mark...if you're with me we've just crossed with a 6:24 split. Even paced, things are feeling great, nice and relaxed, just a slight bronchial cough (haven't been able to shake this thing for two months now), shake out the arms, relax and realize that the race is more than half done. LESS THAN TWO MILES TO GO......but I think I'm dropping my pace. It probably has something to do with the fact that my "pack" thinned out a lot. Quite a few people dropped off the pace, and some of them flew ahead as if to say "Sorry, you guys are far too slow for me". At this point in time I could still see Laura Murphy. She's a great local runner, who I'm sure posted a great time today. I know there was at least one more girl that seemed to be gunning after Laura. At about 2.25 miles, this young woman flew past me at what appeared to be 5:30 pace. I don't know if she ever caught her, as it seemed Laura hit the 3 mile mark and poured it on. I caught myself falling into a false sense of complacency. I apparently backed off for about 6 seconds, coming through the 3 mile mark with a split of 6:30. Normally I would have accepted 6:30 as an overall pace, but not today. I could have fallen back onto that pace and then found a way to rationalize why I did it afterwards, but today I said no, opened my stride and proceeded to finish strong. The other day I had a 4.85 mile run that ended with a 6:10 mile, so I knew that I could pull off something faster than 6:30. Going past Tigers Stadium I knew we would be running towards the old Central Station, I just didn't know how far it would be, so held off from giving it all I had for the last 400 meters. As soon as I turned the corner at 14th I could see how close the finish line was, less than 100 meters, I turned on the gas and tore up the two guys that were with me. The guy in the yellow seen in the accompanying foto had passed me at about 3.1 miles and seemed to be laboring heavily the whole way up Michigan Ave, and the guy in green shorts was running smart, letting someone in front spend all their energy pushing the pace. I've never run this race before, so I had no idea what to do, when to push, and when to let it all out. As soon as he flew past me, I knew we were close, so I caught back up to him, turned the corner, and left them in my proverbial dust. This is the first race that has truly given me confidence that I can make dramatic improvements in race times this year, AND turn in a great marathon performance come October 7th.

The final mile was 6:20....

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Race Results

date place distance unit mileage time
11-Mar-07 Corktown 4 Mile 4 miles 25:37
10-Feb-07 Heat the Streets 5K 5 km 3.11 0:20:24
01-Jan-07 Lake Orion 5K 5 km 3.11 0:19:59
02-Dec-06 Troy Reindeer Run 5 km 3.11 0:20:24
26-Nov-06 Yates Cider Mill Challenge 3.5 miles 3.5 0:19:47
26-Nov-06 Yates Cider Mill Challenge 3.5 miles 3.5 0:24:24
23-Nov-06 Turkey Trot 3.2 miles 3.2 0:20:25
11-Nov-06 Oak Park Gobble Gobble 5 km 3.11 0:21:00
08-Oct-06 Farmington Hills 5K 5 km 3.11 0:20:57
30-Sep-06 Beverly Hills 5 km 3.11 0:20:23
24-Sep-06 Birmingham Blind 5K 5 km 3.11 0:21:31
16-Sep-06 Detroit Zoo 5 km 3.11 0:20:14
07-Jul-06 Dodge Park 3 miles 3 0:19:16
04-Jul-06 Firecracker Mile 1 miles 1 0:05:22
29-Jun-06 Huntington Woods 1 miles 1 0:05:40
24-Jun-06 Solstice 5K Northville 5 km 3.11 0:20:14
03-Jun-06 Dodge Park 5 km 3.11 0:20:36
27-May-06 Heritage 5K 5 km 3.11 0:21:02
20-May-06 Cranbrook 5 km 3.11 0:21:28
06-May-06 Sylvan Shuffle 5K 5 km 3.11 0:21:15
29-Apr-06 Belle Isle 5K 5 km 3.11 0:21:29
08-Apr-06 Macomb Orchard Trail 4 miles 4 0:29:25
02-Apr-06 Shamrock Shuffle 8 km 4.97 0:35:23
25-Mar-06 Hansons 5K 5 km 3.11 0:22:12
09-Oct-05 Chicago 26.2 miles 26.2 3:38:02
10-Sep-05 detroit zoo 5 km 3.11 0:20:50
Totals 100.13 11:51:42

Lake Orion's New Year's Day 5K

It was great weather in the morning. A perfect day to set a PR, on a flat course. Downtown Lake Orion is not hilly, but it certainly isn't flat. There's some slight up and down to the course. I'd arbitrarily say that it is 15-25 seconds slow, for someone like me.

Two laps around and call it a day. There weren't any mile markers, so it was really hard to guesstimate what the splits were. I do know that I was with John Tarkowski for the first 6 minutes, and I shouldn't be. He's about 25 sec/mile faster than I am. I backed off. There was a strong headwind heading south. Luckily that was mostly downhill, and only about 3/4 mile long. The strange thing was that as the race went on, the temperature seemed to drop, dramatically so. What started out as shorts and T-shirt weather was quickly becoming double/triple layer running weather. There was a storm front moving in, and we were right on the edge of it.

The first lap was easy enough, until of course the Lake Orion High School XC team decided that 9:30 was "just a nice easy warm up, time to turn it on." You think you're doing pretty well, and then some younger guys who collectively weigh less than you pass by as if you're running on a stationary treadmill. It's moments like that that you start to question why you're on a quest for returning to the sport, and how far along they will be into their cool down when you finally finish.

The second lap was a bit more difficult. The wind was picking up, the "pack" was thinning out, and my endurance beginning to fade. I find that no matter what shape I'm in, I've always ended up having to pace myself, as I'm not quite good enough for the group ahead, but the person(s) behind me is (are) going 10-20 seconds/mile too slow. You don't want to chance going up to the next group and end up falling off too early, and you certainly don't want to finish a race with too much energy left over. The hardest part of road racing is being able to find a perfect pace when you're alone. The people that have the luxury of running 6/7 days per week develop an almost innate sense of what pace they are racing at, but that takes consistency in training, and a lot of mileage which I have neither the time, nor the ability for. Working 6/7 days a week, raising two children, weighing too much, etc., it all takes its toll on you, and ends up making running all work and no play. This was the primary problem I had in 2004/2005, running was all work, no play. 2006 I said no more, I'm running what I want, no programs, no schedules, I run when I want to run, I run what I want to run. I listened to my mind and my body. Anyways, although I felt like I was fading, I was keying off of someone well ahead of me that was pulling back in. The first lap was 10:30ish, so I was hoping for 9:29 to finish under 20. As the course was slightly different on the second lap I can't say which was faster. I know that I crossed the line and stopped my watch. The reading: "19:59.6"

Sub 20:00 for 5K. That was my goal for all of 2006. When did I do it? Jan 01 2007 at 9:30am, 9.5 hours later than I had hoped. There was the Turkey Trot 5K, but I have to go with the official results, and not with the complaints of many of the runners. Even though most 5K runners were 30 seconds off their regular times, you go with what posts.

So it's a great start to what I hope is a great year in running. I'll be running quite a few races this year. Heat the Streets 5K, Corktown 4 miler, Shamrock Shuffle 8K, Hansons 5K, Orchard Blossom 4 miler, Cranbrook 5K, Firecracker Mile, Detroit "Run Wild" Zoo 5K, and most importantly THE CHICAGO MARATHON (Boston Qualifying 3:10), Oak Park 5K, Turkey Trot 5K, Trent's Run/Bike Race, Troy 5K, Habitat for Humanity 5K.

So to anyone out there actually reading this, good luck to you if you're at any of these races and I don't personally wish it to you. If you don't run, good luck in all that you do this year.