I got these yesterday. Whatever shall I do in them? (I've already put 5 miles on them.)
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Sunday, September 9, 2012
10K Gold
I have quite a few 5K results under my belt to gauge my running. Until yesterday, I had not run a timed 10K race. Just a week ago, I recorded my first 5k run at a sub-eight minute pace (7:58). Still I had no idea what
pace I should run or how to time it for twice the distance I usually run.
I began the week by changing my usual running playlist. I knew I'd need to relax a little more in the first miles and be ready to pick it up (or at least maintain) in the late stretch. My 5k playlist has consisted of Avenged Sevenfold (A7X), Bullet for My Valentine (B4MV), Nonpoint, and Hollywood Undead. To change it up for longer distance, I moved A7X and B4MV to the end of the list, added some Five Finger Death Punch (FFDP) in the middle, and started out with Stereo Hearts by Gym Class Heroes, a remix of Rock that Body by Skrillex, and Get Up by Korn to ease into the later miles.
The race was close to home on the West side of town, and it didn't take much arm twisting to get N and JG to join.
The 4th Annual B&O Express is promoted as having a section of the race run on the old B&O railroad path that has been repurposed as a "trail" for hiking, running, and even riding horses. While it sounded really cool at first glance, the section of the B&O that we ran on was a completely asphalt-paved trail.
I didn't know what to expect, but I wanted to set a goal. I figured since I had broken into the sub-8 range in a 5k, I could push through a bit longer and beat a 9 minute pace for 6.2. Goal: 54 minutes. I wanted to be under 9 minutes per mile, even though it was my first race of this length. Most of the course was relatively flat, and much of it wound through a neighborhood, so there were at least some distractions. When it was over, my result was:
Crushed my goal! If I had known I was doing that well, I may have pushed a little harder. If you've seen the tweet or FB post from yesterday, you may note that Runtastic recorded 5.73 mile in a longer time. Not only did I forget to stop it when I was done, but the GPS cut out three times, so it continued to record the time, but not include the distance. N & JG both got the distance on their devices at 6.11 miles. Runtastic is great for a free run recording software, but it has proven inaccurate on a few occasions. At least it has helped me gauge my progress at some level.
A personally impressive achievement by me turned into a cool one for N as well. Little did she know, after the speedy overall female winners had collected their goods, she finished second in her age group.
In all, a great day, and certainly felt spectacular to do so well at my first 10k, regardless of my age group.
pace I should run or how to time it for twice the distance I usually run.
I began the week by changing my usual running playlist. I knew I'd need to relax a little more in the first miles and be ready to pick it up (or at least maintain) in the late stretch. My 5k playlist has consisted of Avenged Sevenfold (A7X), Bullet for My Valentine (B4MV), Nonpoint, and Hollywood Undead. To change it up for longer distance, I moved A7X and B4MV to the end of the list, added some Five Finger Death Punch (FFDP) in the middle, and started out with Stereo Hearts by Gym Class Heroes, a remix of Rock that Body by Skrillex, and Get Up by Korn to ease into the later miles.
The race was close to home on the West side of town, and it didn't take much arm twisting to get N and JG to join.
The 4th Annual B&O Express is promoted as having a section of the race run on the old B&O railroad path that has been repurposed as a "trail" for hiking, running, and even riding horses. While it sounded really cool at first glance, the section of the B&O that we ran on was a completely asphalt-paved trail.
I didn't know what to expect, but I wanted to set a goal. I figured since I had broken into the sub-8 range in a 5k, I could push through a bit longer and beat a 9 minute pace for 6.2. Goal: 54 minutes. I wanted to be under 9 minutes per mile, even though it was my first race of this length. Most of the course was relatively flat, and much of it wound through a neighborhood, so there were at least some distractions. When it was over, my result was:
Crushed my goal! If I had known I was doing that well, I may have pushed a little harder. If you've seen the tweet or FB post from yesterday, you may note that Runtastic recorded 5.73 mile in a longer time. Not only did I forget to stop it when I was done, but the GPS cut out three times, so it continued to record the time, but not include the distance. N & JG both got the distance on their devices at 6.11 miles. Runtastic is great for a free run recording software, but it has proven inaccurate on a few occasions. At least it has helped me gauge my progress at some level.
A personally impressive achievement by me turned into a cool one for N as well. Little did she know, after the speedy overall female winners had collected their goods, she finished second in her age group.
In all, a great day, and certainly felt spectacular to do so well at my first 10k, regardless of my age group.
TWR '12
I started running by signing up for the Talk Walk Run in April of 2010. Then, except for Corporate Challenge, I didn't run another organized race until Talk Walk Run 2011. I ran quite a bit for the next twelve months, all of the while looking forward to TWR 2012. It's at Fort Benjamin Harrison State Park, on scenic and fairly hilly, paved trails. Since I basically learned to run there, I like to think of it as "my run."
This was the one run that I had experience with; that I could make a true comparison to prior efforts and clearly gauge progress (let's hope!)
Tada!! I didn't progress as much between 2011 and 2012 as I did the previous runs, but I did have a lot more room to improve after the 2010 run. Still happy with myself for getting better. Bring on TWR 2013!
This was the one run that I had experience with; that I could make a true comparison to prior efforts and clearly gauge progress (let's hope!)
 | Talk Walk Run 2010 | IN | 5/1/10 | 5 | 67 | 88 | 9:30 | 29:31 |  |
| Talk Walk Run 2011 | IN | 4/30/11 | 5 | 42 | 56 | 8:39 | 26:55 | | |
| Talk Walk Run 2012 | IN | 4/28/12 | 6 | 39 | 46 | 8:09 | 25:19 | |
Tada!! I didn't progress as much between 2011 and 2012 as I did the previous runs, but I did have a lot more room to improve after the 2010 run. Still happy with myself for getting better. Bring on TWR 2013!
Face off vs. Head off
I ran into these two staring at each other while cutting the grass yesterday.
The mantis decided quickly that he was better served saving face until his lady friend could tear his head off. I know some humans who can identify. You know who you are.
The mantis decided quickly that he was better served saving face until his lady friend could tear his head off. I know some humans who can identify. You know who you are.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
March through March
After running in November and December, then the Bop to the Top in January, I had an idea. N and I had already talked about a run at the end of February, and I knew the inaugural Anywhere 5K was approaching at the beginning of March. After a little research, and having the running bug coming out of winter, I decided to "March through March." I planned to run an organized run every weekend in the month of March. Primary goal: Improve. Ultimate goal: RUN.
And so, at the end of February, I began my quest…
February - Week 0
February - Week 0
First was the Polar Bear 5 Mile run. My first five-miler, and at a balmy 20 degrees in downtown Indy. At least I had learned not to wear 4 layers (Jingle Bell). I did rock the running tights for the first time. They’d be more fashionable if they were made for a 6’ 4” runner. Getting a stretch in afterward…
Result: 45:19 total; 9:04/M A solid performance, considering the extra distance.
March - Week 1
March - Week 1
Next up was the Inaugural Anywhere 5K run. Check out their page, buy a shirt or three, and start signing up for these things. They’re FREE!!
Result: 26:25 total; 8:41/M Fortunately for me, I use the “Runtastic” app on my Galaxy S to track my runs, so there was no way I could fib about the result. If you check my tweets just after that, you’ll see a couple more miles logged. I had mapped a new route around home to run, but made on wrong turn on the way out. Add another wrong turn heading back, and you go a couple more miles.
March - Week 2
March - Week 2
To open the week for the Big 10 Conference Basketball Tournament there is an annual Big 10 Hoops Day 5K run. I happen to be pretty close to a Purdue grad, so I put on my big cotton Boilermaker t-shirt, over the gigantic long sleeve dri-fit tee provided for the race, and set out through the streets of downtown Indy once again.
Result: 25:32 total; 8:31/M It must have been the big parachute of a shirt that slowed me down. I didn’t win anything based on my time, but at least a couple of friends and I were able to photo bomb the trophy.
March - Week 3
Of course, St. Patty’s day brings all kinds of events, one of which is the Shamrock 4 Mile run/walk. No photos from this one. The finish was deceptive. As we were routed back into the Monument Circle downtown, we expected to be done as we rounded the corner to head south. Nope. The sprint to the finish was premature. We had to make it three quarters of the way around the circle to finish, which doesn’t sound so bad, unless you have already run 4 miles. That’s no small circle!
Result: 35:06; 08:46/M Acceptable given the extra distance, I suppose.
March - Week 4
March - Week 4
I’ve run trails with N before, and I’ve hiked/jogged some with y2kemo in NC, so the Holliday Park 5 Mile Trail run seemed like a great fit for this month. What I have not done, and certainly not competitively, is stomp across plastic floating bridges due to flooding creeks and slide down muddy, slimy wooden bridges from the rains the night before. It was a lot more than I had experience before, but still as fun as could be. No photos of me this time either. Probably best, though I didn’t get the dirty arse that a lot of other runners came out of there sporting.
Result: 54:42; 10:56/M I’ll take that for my first extremely muddy trail run!
March - Week 5
March - Week 5
Last but not least, on the last day of March, and in anticipation of Easter, was the Bunny Rock 5K run. I say “not least”, but that’s not entirely true. For a 5k in downtown Indy, since this was a new race, there were very few people registered for it. Perhaps I should lead with “I finished 6th in my age group and 44th overall”? It was true, but the race clearly did not bring out a huge crowd. Fewer than 500 in all, but we did all get rockin’ sunglasses and bunny ears to run in. You’ll notice in photos that the ears are bent back so I could be more aerodynamic. Did it work?
Result: 25:30; 8:14/M Best recorded time EVAH by this guy.
There are some in-race photos from this one. This was not too far in. Note the crowd way behind me, and JG’s arm next to me…
This one was near the finish. I had trouble passing that pair behind me. They threw up some hellish elbow blocks. (not really)
Mission accomplished! I ran a race every weekend and improved along the way. Since then, I’ve run one organized race that I’ll tell about later and I’m registered for my first 10k. We’ll see how the extra distance treats me.
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