Training Week 2/24/2014-3/2/2014

Monday marked the beginning of my "full-time" student teaching and with it a reduced energy level that made getting out the door everyday this week a struggle with the exception of Saturday - more on that later.  I suppose it's fair to say that I have a fear that when I begin teaching this fall, I'll struggle getting out for runs and lose the fitness I've worked so hard to achieve over the past couple years.  However, I think about the many people I know and look up to that have full-time jobs and still train and run at a very high-level and tell myself that if they can do it, I CAN do it!  At the end of the week, I still managed to log 61 miles in roughly 9 hours of running!  Here's how it unfolded:

Monday: 6.5, 230' 1hr
With Rudy recovering from Mt. Cheaha, Mike Jones recovering from Mt. Mitchell, and most of the other folks missing, the Monday evening Ultra VT group run was fairly tame compared to previous weeks.  It was really an "old guy" run as Mike and Darren split off after 3 miles or so leaving Robbie, Jordan, and I to bring up the average age of the group run and have "old man" talk.  For some reason, I wasn't feeling a burrito and opted to pass on my usual post Ultra VT group run Moe's Monday.  I know, I know; I'm a disgrace to Moe's Foursquare Mayors all over.

Tuesday: Rest

Tuesday is now my usual rest day and I observed it this week.  I'm not really too sure what happened on Tuesday - the week was a total blur.

Wednesday: 9.6, 440' 1.25hr

I stayed after school for a professional development seminar and when I did finally get home I debated whether to run or to choose the easy excuse to say "I'm too tired" to get out and run.  I thought about what Dr. Horton told us during the pre-race meeting before Holiday Lake, "The five minute rule: if you do something for five minutes it's often easier to keep going than it is to stop.  If you get out for a run in the cold weather it's easier to keep running then get dressed for the cold weather to only run five minutes" and used this to get me out the door on my run.  The loop I did is one of my "go-to get in 8 or more miles" loops in Blacksburg.  I had told Michelle to meet me at Moe's at 6, which meant that my run wasn't limited by my willingness to get miles in but rather "how many miles can I run and not be late."  I arrived at Moe's at 5:59 and then stretched quickly before grabbing dinner with my best friend :-)

Thursday: CELEBRATE!

Well...Thursday was AWESOME!  I should've gone out for a run but I came home in such a great mood after training to be a substitute teacher for Montgomery County and on-campus interviews that I decided I wanted to just sit around and enjoy the moment.  I suppose this is a bit cryptic and for now that will have to do but I saw something on Instagram this week that sums up how I feel, (filtered version)"Good things come to those who wait GO OUT AND MAKE THINGS HAPPEN!"  I did not plan to have two rest days this week and consequently ended up a bit short on volume but what I missed out on in terms of volume by taking the extra day off I more than made up for in attitude!

Friday: 7.2, 730' 1hr

Friday followed suit with the rest of the week and I told myself I would go out and get 5, 6, or 7 miles in depending on how I felt.  I have two options when I leave my apartment complex in terms of what direction I want to go; both lead downhill.  I choose to head down toward the valley knowing that regardless of the route I took I would eventually have to climb back up the hill.  I felt pretty good for most of the run but around 4 miles my stomach started to let me know it wasn't happy with my choice to eat an apple before my run.  Coincidently, I listened to a Podcast on Saturday that discussed this very issue, eating an apple prior to a run, something I will NEVER do again.  I think I've done this before and didn't learn my lesson...this time I did.  Although I didn't have to stop and empty the contents of my bowels in a yard...I nearly had to and wound up walking the last 1/2 mile home.  Sometimes you just have those runs...which hopefully do not involve the runs.

Friday marked the end of February and my highest mileage month of running - ever.  I logged 238 miles, or a little over 2.5 times what I did in 2013.  However, what's even more impressive as I look at the numbers between 2013 and 2014 is that in January alone, after taking the first 8 days of the month off, I logged more time running than I did January and February combined in 2013.  I feel strong and seeing the benefits of putting in 6, 7, or 8 hours of running on the weekend is totally worth the pain in the moment.

Saturday:  21.5, 1950' 3.25hr

Creek that parallels Ellett Rd going down into the valley.

On Saturday morning, I got up early, ate breakfast, and headed out for a long run down in the valley.  I had scoped out a run using the course feature on Garmin Connect but didn't know how long the trails were at my destination.  I was meeting Michelle's dad, Marvin, to grab lunch before the basketball game at 2:30, which meant that I needed to back at my place and ready to leave by 1PM.  I set out around 9 and headed down into the valley via Ellett Road, which gave me roughly 3:30 hours to run before I needed to get back and clean up for the game.  I was excited to try out my new vest that had arrived on Friday from RunningWarehouse that was an exchange for the AK vest I had returned after wearing once on a training run on the Holiday Lake course.  

Structurally sound?  I think not.

The issue with the AK vest, aside from the lack of storage, was that my ribs were sore for days after wearing it for one 16 mile training run because of how the bottles sat on ribcage.  I decided to give the Scott Jurek vest, also made by Ultimate Direction, a try because unlike the AK vest it comes in three sizes (sm, med, and lg) and I fell right in the middle of the medium whereas I was at the high end of a small and low end of a large for the AK vest.  The vest works SO WELL!  Last year, I talked about running motivation in a blog post and that sometimes a new piece of gear can serve as the little needed additional motivation to get out the door for a run.  This vest did that and more; it has me itching to get out for more long run adventures!  

Eventually, I made my way out to Falls Ridge Preserve (mile 8.5), protected by The Nature Conservancy, and decided that I had enough time to go explore the trails.  There are really only two trails out there, both are "lollipop" style trials with the first that you arrive at being a 1.5 mile loop and other, the Bradley Trail, branches off the first loop and goes up to a peak to make for a total of about 3.5 miles of trail.

About 100 feet in you come to this awesome waterfall, I took some video with my phone and uploaded it to Instagram during the run!

 

There are lots of water features out there along the trail and the conservancy website lists the falls at 80'.  I didn't see anyone else out on the trail and the quiet and remoteness was needed after a long and busy week.  The Bradley Trail, which is the lollipop that winds around a peak called Mill Knob, reaches just over 2000'.  Upon leaving Falls Ridge Preserve, I knew that I had about 9 miles left and around two hours until Marvin would be picking me up.  The run home along Lusters Gate was pretty uneventful and although I've ridden that section of road many times on a bicycle, I was able to appreciate the beauty of the valley in a new way running it.  The last bit of the run is climbing out of the valley up the "Blacksburg Infamous" Harding Road climb.  It. Stinks.  At the end of the run, I had managed to log 21 miles in a little over 3 hours and put a solid dent into my weekend volume.

Sunday: 16.4, 600' 2.25hr
Sunday marked the 29th running of the Blacksburg Classic, which I ran last year but opted to not run this year.  Instead, Michelle and I went and watched and cheered on several of our friends who were running.

In order to be able to watch the race Sunday afternoon, I had to get up and out the door early again on Sunday for another longish run.  I was shooting for 15.1 miles to make it an even 60 for the week but when I got out to the new and recently paved section of the Huckleberry Trail I decided I would just go a little further.  I ended my run at Chipotle, a decision I immediately regretted because I had to lug it back up the hill...that I walked instead of ran.  I got home a few minutes after 12 and we were out the door by 12:45 headed down to the start of the race.

The start of the 29th Annual Blacksburg Classic!

There were 5 folks from the Ultra VT that were running including Jordan and Kristen Chang, Guy, Rachel, and Alex.  I also saw a bunch of other folks out there including two of my professors and Gef who I ran with on my long run last Sunday.  We brought Gillie along and Michelle took photos while I Vuvuzela'd the runners as they went by.  It was pretty awesome!

Jordan Chang looking strong on the first of two downtown loops!

Guy Love and Geffrey Moy (left) and Kristen Chang (right) completing loops 1 of 2.

Much heckling occurred!

Probably my favorite shot of the day - Michelle did a great job!

Michelle and our wild little one!

More heckling!

Jordan took 2nd overall!

Guy Love and Geffrey Moy finished 5th and 7th respectively.

Good times were had by all!

Totals for the week:

Distance: 61.3

Elevation: 3945'

Duration: 8:46

It was another strong week of training and I'm feeling confident with the back-to-back runs I've been putting together on the weekends.  As of posting this, Umstead 100 is 31 days away!  I am simultaneously excited and nervous.

100 miles isn't that far.  ~Karl Meltzer

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1st Annual Hokie Half Marathon (10 minute PR)

In retrospect, my conversation with Michelle the Friday evening before the race about my goal time of 1:40:00 is almost comical.  However, before I get there I want to explain how I arrived at one of, if not the, best races I've ever run.

When I first heard that there was going to be a Blacksburg half marathon this fall, I was pretty excited about the idea of thousands of Hokies running together through the streets of Blacksburg and what an awesome backdrop downtown Blacksburg would provide for a finish (missed opportunity #1).  Alas, it was not to be but the race that Runabout Sports put together was phenomenal and an excellent first annual event!  Michelle and I have arrived at the conclusion that we prefer events or "experiences" for gifts from one another because they seem to be more memorable than an item with a finite lifespan.  (Perhaps this is why people give jewelry?)  It's for this reason that I asked to run the event for my birthday in a few weeks...I just lucked out with when they scheduled the run and received my birthday present a little early!

My "training" like always wasn't stellar leading up to the race or should I say more specifically my training wasn't specific?  Now, often in my "race reports" I avoid using the word race and prefer to say run but when I lined up two Sundays ago, I had every intention of racing.  I digress.  Because of the lack of specificity in my training regime and the fact that I had run Iron Mountain 30 miler only 15 days prior, I wasn't optimistic for a PR but thought given the right conditions I may be able to have an okay day.  Additionally, the fact that I was familiar with the course gave me added confidence that if I was having a good day and the legs felt good, I would know where to push it and where to ease off.

Training by month leading up to the race.

Training by week leading up to the race.

I didn't do much running the week leading up to the race but managed to get in an easy run out in Pandapas on Tuesday followed by a quick 5 mile run Wednesday evening.  They were calling for  absolutely perfect running weather Sunday morning, in the mid. 50's for the race, and I knew that given the right conditions I could run sub-1:40.  I didn't bother crunching the numbers using a pace calculator but knew that I need to run somewhere in the 7:30's to run sub-1:40 based on my previous half marathon PR of 1:42 back in 2011, at the Charlotte Half Marathon.  Saturday was relatively low key for us.  We spent most of the day at Michelle's parents watching the embarassment that was the Virginia Tech vs. ECU game before heading back to Blacksburg for packet pickup at the Virginia Tech Inn.

Packet pickup was rather painless and Runabout Sports made an effort to put together a small expo at the Inn for race participants.  I tried on a pair of Hoka Stinson's and felt like I was wearing moon boots (they were awesome!) and may be curious to give them a try come winter when I begin putting in big miles for Umstead.  They also had the usual variety of nutrition and other "running expo" products folks would want to pick up for a race.

Michelle and I at packet pickup.

Following the expo, Michelle and I had our friend Shannon over for a pasta dinner.  Michelle, as always, did an awesome job preparing a delicious pasta dish with tomato basil sauce and chicken.  Post dinner, I pinned my number to my shorts like I always do.  I neglected to read the instructions in our bag about placing the bib near the stomach or chest area, which turned out not to be an issue but could have put a damper on my experience if my time had not been recorded, thankfully it was.  It wasn't until later that I learned the timing system was not the "standard" mat timing that goes across the start/finish line that you see at most race but rather a weird "aiming" type system that uses two large rectangles aimed at runners' chest/stomach to record runners chips as they cross the line.  We made an effort to get to bed early and get a good night sleep but I started reading on Sabrina Moran's blog and read this quote that I felt compelled to share with Michelle:

"Few men during their lives come anywhere near exhausting the resources dwelling within them. There are deep wells of strength that are never used." Richard Byrd

I repeated this quote over and over during the race on Sunday knowing that I often fall victim to self-sabotage.

The best part about doing a local race is being able to sleep in your own bed.  Adding to the awesomeness of close-to-home races is the bonus of not having to wake up 3 or 4 hours before the start of the race to get to the race location but rather leaving an hour before the race is scheduled to start.  We woke up around 5 and had a quick breakfast,  I decided to deviate from my normal banana-honey-peanut butter bagel, and opted instead for greek yogurt, banana, and a cup of coffee.  We left the house just after 6 and arrived at the race start a short ten minutes later, not bad for a commute to a race.

We made the necessary stop upon arriving at the giant row of porta-pottys, I have to give them credit here - there were plenty of porta-pottys for the number of runners, and then played the "hurry up and wait game" as we waited around for the race to start. Around 6:45, I headed back to my car to drop off my jacket and head out for a quick warm-up, which I think is one reason why I had a really great race.

I arrived back at the start just a few minutes before the gun was scheduled to go off, just in time for the national anthem, and searched for Michelle and Shannon to wish them good luck with no success.  After a few minutes of searching, I had to give up and found a spot maybe 20 or 30 feet back from the start line.  I knew going into the race, it was blatantly obvious at the start, how many folks didn't know how to line up appropriately for their predicted time (missed opportunity #2, coral start).  From a logistics standpoint, the location of the race start wasn't bad because it provided ample parking and convenient location, and while the Corporate Research Center (CRC) isn't an eyesore it isn't exactly picturesque nor does it represent Blacksburg very well.  Although I didn't mind the start location, if the course changes in the future, hopefully it does, we wouldn't be missing anything.  The race started on a slight uphill headed toward the 460 business/460 bypass junction, which was a good way to get legs going but again wasn't really anything special scenery wise.  The course then made a right onto South Main St/460 Business, which is where my issues with the course selection began (just before the 1 mile marker).

The participant limit was set at 3000 entrants, which was significantly more than they had register (~1200) but it supports their decision for including South Main St. as a significant portion of the race, roughly 2.5 miles.  However, of all the roads in the Blacksburg/Christiansburg area it is by far the ugliest and least scenic of roads not to mention the poor condition of the road surface as a result of the harsh SW VA winters and copious amounts of road kill (missed opportunity #3).  I found a group of runners that were running my pace and locked onto them for the next few miles ticking off 6:55, 7:04, 6:53, and 6:52 splits for the first four miles.  The Christiansburg High School marching band was at the New River Valley Mall (mile 3), which gave me a nice little lift as I had a brief moment of doubt in my ability to maintain my current pace for the remainder of the race.

When I hit the start (although technically the end mile ~6) of the Huckleberry Trail, I opted not to take water and continue toward Blacksburg locking onto folks in front of me and slowly chasing them down.  I was feeling really good until mile 7 when I began wondering whether I had gone out too fast but did my best to stay with the folks I was around and pushed through a rough patch, only adding 8 seconds on the next mile from 6:49 (mile 6) to 6:57 (mile 7).  The next few miles felt pretty good and because the territory was familiar I think I had a little advantage to push hard on the rollers that I've run countless times during training.  I picked up a GU just before mile 9 and a cup of Gatorade but decided against taking the GU because I didn't have any water with me to wash it down.  As I approached Tech Center Drive running up the biggest hill on the course, I knew that after I reached the top I would be able to hit my goal of sub-1:40 even if I ran 9 min./mi. for the last 4 miles but returned to the Richard Byrd quote above and thought about what I had left in the tank.  I got a boost at the top of the hill when I spotted Jordan Chang at the intersection of the Huckleberry and Tech Center Drive who gave me some words of encouragement.  I then began the only section of the course with two way traffic, passing the eventual winner of the race going the other direction (3 miles ahead of me)(missed opportunity #4, the Huckleberry Trail is really too narrow for two way traffic).

A group of three or four of us stayed together and pushed the pace as we reached the end of the Huckleberry Trail section (really the beginning mile 0.0) running my final sub-7 minute mile of the race before making a U-turn onto Preston Street, what I thought was the last hill on course.  I could tell I was beginning to fade as I approached the 11 mile mark.  I found another gear when I hit the short 1/2 mile section where the trail had two-way traffic and I was passing lots of runners going the opposite direction, most of whom provided words of encouragement as we were spread pretty far apart.  Unfortunately, quite a few of the folks were completely oblivious to the fact that people were coming the other direction and were running on both sides of the cones going toward downtown which didn't slow me down but made me expend extra energy to tell them to get out of the way.  Mile 12 was desolate.  The d-shaped loop only has one building along it and is mainly empty fields, which made it drag on forever.  At the end of the loop right before making a right back onto Tech Center Drive there was an awesome band just in the middle of nowhere jamming out some good country tunes.  Finally, I made what I thought was the final turn into the CRC only to see a beast of a hill ahead that I had no idea was on the course.  This hill absolutely destroyed me.  The one advantage to this unnecessarily large hill at the end of the race was a downhill finish.  Gravity was pretty much the only thing moving me forward at that point.  I watched the clock as I came down the hill and was happy to finish under 1:32.

One awesome outcome of the race was having the fastest Strava time for the Huckleberry trail, even if I do only have it for a short time. 

Overall, I placed 38th out of 1125 half marathon finishers (despite what it says above, 3 folks times were not recorded).

I was pretty ecstatic with my finish time and knew that I had left most of it out there on the course.  After receiving my medal and finisher shirt, I headed directly to my car and grabbed my jacket and phone so I could meet up with Michelle's parents who were on their way to watch her finish (missed opportunity #5, the shuttle buses bringing spectators to the finish were stuck where the Huckleberry crossed Tech Center Drive and most folks wound up having to walk).  I also grabbed my Vuvuzela to encourage runners on the course.  Another awesome thing about a race like this is that it brings out lots of folks in the community.  I was able to chat with a professor from last semester, who embarrassingly beat me by a little over two minutes, and one of my current professors and say hello to their families.

I eventually met up with Michelle's parents and we were able to see Michelle and Shannon finish, both of whom looked like they were having a great time!

Michelle and Shannon enjoying the downhill finish!

Shannon, Michelle, and I at the finish (Vuvuzela in hand)!

We grabbed some of the post race food before heading toward the car and lane stadium to grab some finisher photos!

Michelle and I infront of Lane Stadium.

Cindy, Marvin, and Michelle.

Overall, the race was an excellent first annual event that has tremendous potential to be a "must-do sell out" type of race.  That being said, there are a few things in my opinion that need to change for us to consider doing it again next year.

1. Michelle and I both agree, and most of the folks that we talked to after the race, that the BIGGEST missed opportunity was lack of coordination with the Blacksburg Brew Do, a craft beer festival at the First & Main Shopping District.  The Brew Do was held on Saturday, and perhaps James and the organizers wanted to stay away from associating with a beer festival but scheduling the race the day after certainly prevented folks from attending one or the other.  I would like to see a partnership where participating in the race gets you free entry into the festival or coordinate the finish into the festival.  At a very minimum, schedule the events the same day so that folks are not forced to choose between one or the other.  Perhaps it will convince even more folks to participate.  I think it's also important to note the constraints the football season places on the scheduling of the race, which means the weekend the race falls on will likely fluctuate as a result.
2. The course leaves something to be desired - I think James and the folks at Runabout did a great job for a first annual event but considering how often Main Street is shut down for festivals in Blacksburg (Steppin' Out, Summer Solstice, etc.) I don't see why something similar could not have been arranged.  It really comes down to establishing a course that is memorable and promotes a sense of community where non-particpants are inclined to come out and cheer on the runners.  Additionally, the parking location for spectators and shuttle arrangement left folks stuck on buses and missing their friends' finish.
3. Registration cost was too high for early registrants and compared to other comparable races - The lowest registration cost for a runner was $80, which is on par with a registration fee of early registrants for a full marathon.  I think it comes down to establishing expectations.  Personally, I would expect to pay in the neighborhood of $50 to $65 for a small town, and first annual, half marathon.  By charging $80, for me at least, Runabout sports set the expectations very high and while I was happy with the event I could've done without two-shirts and a $15 finishers medal.  Yeah, it's neat but it should be an option to reduce cost for participants who aren't really interested in all of the extras.
4. Shirts were not true to size - I heard this across the board.  The long sleeve shirts that participants received at packet pickup were a size small for both men and women.  For me, I didn't really mind because I have a pile of race shirts but for Michelle and Shannon, who wound up with 3/4 length sleeves which were supposed to be long sleeve and shirts that revealed their navels, it was disappointing.  This was obviously outside of Runabout Sports control but was disappointing none-the-less. 

Overall, the race was awesome, and we had a great time.  I think the event has huge potential to be a SW VA "must do" race, but there were a few missed opportunities that I'm sure James and the folks at Runabout Sports are aware of.

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Downtown Sundown 5K - Race Report

Short version:

• I went a little overboard on glow sticks at the Dollar Tree the day before the race
• The race started at 8:30PM
• I ran a new PR of 19:50 (clock time) with mile splits of 6:37, 6:26, and 6:18 respectively.
• I placed 9th overall (out of 231) and 2nd in the 25-29 age group.
• I had FUN!

Long version:

I was back and forth on whether or not I wanted to run the Downtown Sundown 5k, primarily because Michelle and I had discussed just enjoying the parent event itself, the Summer Solstice Fest. Maybe it was race registration withdraw or the thought of "missing out" as I watched everyone run by but on Monday evening I decided I wanted to run and turned in my registration at RunAbout Sports on Tuesday.  I think the last time I ran a 5k was during my undergraduate time at Tech in the 5KD (2008?!?).  My running last week was pretty low, in fact it was only three runs aside the race on Saturday so I think I was well rested.

On Friday, Michelle and I headed off to to grocery store and on our way stopped by the Dollar Tree so that I could pick up a few birthday cards.  Upon entering the store, I completely forgot why we were there because I was so distracted by their massive selection of glow-in-the-dark products.  I may have gotten a little carried away.  That's the problem with the dollar store, you think "but it's only a dollar" and then you get up to the counter and leave thinking "did I really get 20 items?" Fortunately, I didn't get that carried away and managed to keep the damage to a minimum...aside from the obligatory Harribo Gummy Bear purchase.  They get me EVERY time.  I digress.

And this wasn't even all of it.  Later on, I found a section that had three times the selection!

Sunflower Rye Bread

Saturday was relatively tame.  Michelle headed off early to get in a run with her friend Shannon, which gave me the perfect opportunity to be productive.  I spent most of the day "doing schoolwork" and by doing schoolwork I mean I was editing a video from making pizza Friday night.  At least I was productively procrastinating rather than just sitting around watching TV.  I did make a trip down to the farmers market to pick up some delicious bread. Prepare for a tangent.  I grew up loving bread. On my last and only trip to Germany as a Siemens employee, I had the privilege of traveling with a German colleague who lived in the US and professed her love for dense-hearty bread whenever she returned to Europe.  I thought it was interesting her comparison of how "most" American bread is airy and fluffy but the bread in Europe is more substantial, more of a meal than a side, kind of like a good stout beer.  I think she'd be proud because that's the type of bread I bought on Saturday.

Gillie thought the bread smelled delicious!

Although the loaf looks small, it must have weighed 2+ pounds.  Think about that.  It was delicious.  I suppose this is me professing my love for dense-hearty bread.  I guess you could say that I'm a convert.  Anyways, I always try the bread from Sweetwater Baking Co. but this is the first time I've purchased.  I don't know if I can go back.  Although, I do like making bread in the bread machine.  Right.  The race report.  Yes.  I remember now.

The only area for improvement by race management in my opinion, and this may be entirely my fault for not being more conscious, is communication of packet pickup details.  I completely glossed over the details when turning in my registration.  Fortunately, whomever is in charge of the RunAbout sports Facebook page is GREAT about replying to posts in a timely manner and that is where I found out that packet pickup ended at 7:45.  Michelle really saved me here, as she always does.  She was already at the Summer Solstice fest with some of her friends from school and swung by and picked up my race number, otherwise I would have been in a huge rush to make it by 7:45.

Run from the apartment to Downtown

I decided I would run down to the start of the race from my apartment and packed up my Nathan hydration vest with my Chacos, for after, and surplus of glow sticks.  I found Michelle a little after 8 at Cabo and pinned on my race number and headed off to warm-up.  I usually don't warm-up, mainly because in a marathon or ultra I'll be out there for hours and that happens in the first few miles but I decided with a short race that I should try to "prime" my body for the effort.

Warm-up on the Huckleberry Trail

All glow stick'd up!  Can you tell I don't take myself too seriously?

I was feeling good and excited to race, despite what I had told other people about just taking the run easy.  I wanted to see what I was capable of and what type of time I could put down but I also try to stay humble and understand that sometimes you just have off days and have to take it in stride, pun intended.  I found Michelle at the start line with some Blacksburg friends and hung out for a few minutes before finding a place near the start line.  I situated myself about 15 feet back from the start line, again mainly a humility thing, but I should've just lined up on the line as there was some initial side-stepping as a result.  And without much buildup and a simple Ready. Set. Go! we were off.

Ready.                                                              Set.           

Go!

Photo credit: Roanoke.com

Most of the first mile is along Draper Rd. heading away from Downtown and is predominately uphill.  The race sorted itself out quickly, or rather the Draper hill did, and by the first mile I was sitting within the top 15 or so and feeling comfortable (read: not feeling like I was going to barf).  I began marking people and closing each gap, giving encouragement as I came up alongside them, although I wasn't  in much of a state to talk as I was not running at a conversational pace so it was more like "Nice *gasp* Race! *gasp*"  As we made the turn onto the Huckleberry Trail, I had that feeling in my legs and I began thinking "can I sustain this?"  I think the mental gains that I have made this spring by running longer distances and off-road far outweigh the physical benefits.  The most significant of which is the ability to push through tough moments in a race.  Knowing the course well was a huge advantage as I knew exactly what to expect and prepare for around every turn.

Turning off the Huckleberry trail (~2.2 mile-ish) and making a right onto Preston, I knew there was only three more hills before the downhill to the finish along Draper.  I felt good and continued to push the pace and was able to catch, match, and pass two other runners in the last mile or so.  The whole way down Draper I was thinking "Don't. Get. Caught!" as I knew I would be kicking myself if I slipped out of the top ten for slacking near the finish.  A couple hundred meters from the finish I could hear the sound of the vuvuzela (Nice Ultra VT!) and kicked to the finish, while retrieving my glow stick wand that I had stowed in my waistline for finish photos!

Gorgeous night for a run!

I was glad to be done but surprisingly didn't feel too awful.  Michelle was there waiting for me, as always, and grabbed a few photos that capture how I really felt:

I suppose my mind was frazzled from the race or possibly in oxygen debt and completely forgot about the awards after the race.  It was not until the results were posted Sunday evening that I realized I had taken second for my age group.  I finished with a time of 19:50, which I was really pleased with especially considering I don't do speed work or track workouts.  I placed 9th overall out of 231 but the field this year was less competitive than last year where I would have been 17th with my time.  I was happiest that I didn't fade as the race went on with mile splits of 6:37, 6:26, and 6:18 for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd miles respectively. Although, I think it helped that the last 1/2 of the race is downhill!

Downtown Sundown 5k - Garmin Data

We hung around and watched a few people finish but both of us wanted to enjoy the festival in its' entirety and what better way then to enjoy a refreshing beverage at Cabo!

Michelle and I post race at Cabo Fish Taco!

I didn't eat much after lunch because I was worried about my stomach.  Great decision!  After the race, I indulged in a wiz wit (yes, with actual cheez-whiz!) from the Cellar food truck.

I love the race shirts, which is funny because it's not anything special (i.e. a technical shirt with wicking fabric) but the colors just make it feel like summer but I did have an observation about them. Do you think the person designing them was enjoying a Bell's Oberon at the time?  The colors are almost exactly the same, despite the picture at the right.  Regardless, they're AWESOME!

It was a really fun race and I enjoyed the change from slow pace of an ultra.  Maybe next year I'll convince Michelle to run it too!

My second place age group medal!

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