Winter Classis 5k...where I was classic me...

Year two of running the Winter Classic 5k in Cambridge but I really like this course. Its a pretty flat out and back loop. I don't know why I'm such a fan of doubling back (ONLY for 5ks of course) but I really like seeing more runners. I play the head game that they'll never catch me and I turn up the pace.

So, after finding and acutal parking space on a side street (who's not paying $20 for parking for 2 hours in downtown Cambridge? THIS guy!), J and I headed to packet pick up. Now one of the cool things about this race last year was that on top of getting a race shirt you also were also randomly chosen to either win a cool embroidered head warmer...or...in the spirit of the season...a piece of coal. I thought that was hilarious! I of course got the head warmer last year and J got coal which I found to be even MORE funny but no such merriment this year. It seems that people were offended by getting coal last year and the race stopped doing it. Really peope? I mean REALLY?! Geez, lighten up a bit!

I did finally meet twitter friend Danielle. A wicked cool, chick totally deck out in her best Christmas apparel for the race (see pic below) and we milled around the start. Ah yes, the start. I told myself that I had no intentions of "racing" today or setting a PR but as race time got closer I found myself magically pulled toward the front and calculating pace times in my head (classic me). And while I was crunching numbers I heard the gun go off. Now I've been trying a different approach to racing the last few races. Rather than get so fixed on the pace on my Polar RCX5G5, I'd just hang with the "lead" group of the race and try to settle in. I read an article a few months ago that one of the reason Ryan Hall was having an issue at races was his watch said he was going too fast so he would layoff and then eventually not be able to bridge the gap back to the leaders. Yes, I k,ow I'm NO Ryan hall but it does make sense. Your body performs differently on race day and if you can hold a pace, you should. Don't let your mind work against you.

We went out at a good pace. And by "we" I mean the 2nd lead group after the gazelles that take off at a 5k. We hit the 1st mile marker on a 6:20 pace. Not fast but not slow either. Now 5ks are an interesting race. Or at least to me they are. Unlike a 10k or greater distance, there's no "blowing up" on a 5k, just run as fast as you can and then at the halfway point or or 3 mile marker, turn on the jets. Well, due to my extreme concentration...or whatever...I totally missed seeing the 1 mile marker. As we hit the turn, I knew that we were moving pretty fast but we're headed home so I needed to turn up the speed. Now I also had motivation to continue pressing the pace. This tiny (like sub 5 foot) girl with a gymnast's build was right on my shoulder the whole way. Now, I don't like having ANYONE on my shoulder for a race but I dislike it even more when its a cute little girl who looked to be in her mid 20's there. There's no way she's getting by me so I need to step it up. I will say I took great pride in passing people wearing local runner's club kit. They looked like runners and here this broken old guy was passing them (insert smile here).

The crew post race

We hit the 2nd mile marker and I was a little tired but there's only 1.2 miles left so I need to get my butt in gear. I leaned forward, started to pump my arms and frantically pushed to get separation from the gymnast girl. There's a right hand turn into the finish with a cop car, lights flashing to mark the turn. When I saw it from about a 1/4 mile away I just gave it all I had. As I made the turn I could see the clock. It was in the high 19's. Are you kidding me?! My 5k PR is 19:54! For a race that I wasn't "racing" I was close to my PR?! Running I did some math (which if you know me you know tapped all of my mental reserves) and realized even running wide open at this point I'd finish around a 20 flat. Damnit!

Sure enough I crossed the line with 20:08...14 seconds off my PR. Yes, I know its still a good time, but to know I was that close while still feeling "good" during a race is a little frustrating. Good take away was that my pace was constant between 6:20-6:25 throughout the race. Unlike the 5k PR race I had where I went out at a 5:45 first mile and spent the rest of the race trying to hold on. That race was a year ago and here I am a year later (and older) and I came close to that time with little train up. I also knocked 90 seconds off my time from last year's race on the same course. So not bad and good learning points, so much for not "racing it". Luckily I could drown my thoughts in a GREAT post race breakfast at Friendly Toast afterwards...

The rescheduled Wrentham Halloween Duathlon...the only thing scary was my performance. Boo.

Having gone through taper madness the week prior I had to deal with my last duathlon of the season getting rescheduled due to MA's "snowtober". So...one more week of trying to train, but not overtrain and stay sharp for the race. I had originally planned to run a local 5k on Saturday and since the dua got bumped, I'd race it the next day but thought that since I seemed to be getting a cold and wanting to do well on the Sunday, I decided to not run the 5k and focus all my energies (what there were of them) on the Dua.

I was support staff for J and her parents as they all ran the 5k on Saturday. While I was happy to do it, when I saw the times getting posted I couldn't help but think that I should've run the 5k myself. But no, no, no, the dua is the priority. It made more sense to save all my energy for Sunday's race (really, now I'm trying to be sensical?). THAT's the one I want to do well at. J posted a PR on the course, took 3rd in her age group and her mom won her age group for the 2nd year in a row. Great job by the two of them. Ok, support over, time to get get geared up for the Duathon.

I would love to say that race prep is this easy thing but that would be a straight up lie. I take over a room with gear layout so I can see it all. I hem and haw about what I should wear to the event, what I should wear for the event and what back up clothes/gear should be taken. Then there's what fuel to pack, how much and which water bottles should go (yes, I have specific water bottles to use based on event). I have done equipment layouts for "go to war missions" in my Army career that took less time and effort than it takes me to pack a transition bag! Then there's the bike. Oh, the bike. This will be the first event that I get to race my new 2011 Cervelo P2. If you don't think that bike looks sexy, you and I have no need to be friends. Cyclists and multisport racers always have a bike that is their prized possession. That P2 my friends is mine. Yes, I know they make P3's and P4's but to be honest those are variations on a theme. A theme set by the P2. So after lovingy wiping the P2 (named Natasha by the way) and double checking all the measurements were correct and fit was good, I was all set for the Duathlon.

Race morning went fine. Up at the right time, standard breakfast of cereal, juice and protein drink of some kind and headed out. Trying to be relaxed, I took my time and arrived at the setup area only an hour before the start. Now you may think that's normal but not for me dear redears. I normally show up to an event so early that I help the organizers SET UP. Yup, I'm THAT guy. I'm trying to get be better, I really am.

I LOVE duathlons, there is such a simplicity to setting up the transition area; bike, helmet, cycling shoes, water bottle and maybe a gel...thats it. Now I would be me if I didn't go back no less than 5 or 6 times to make sure the bike was set up right or my cycling shoes were in just the right location for easy donning. Now because I just got my P2, I have yet to buy the "wing" thats needed in order to mount anything behind the Carvelo's distinctive seat post so I decided to run the bike "skinny", 1 water bottle, no spare tubes or repair equipment. I must admit, as you can see in the picture, the bike looked pretty pimp. It was cold for race start, not as cold as the last time I did the event, but cold enough. I was wearing a tri top (Polar, of course) with a long sleeved under armour hot gear shirt, tri shorts and my Saucony Hattori's. I thought to use the Hattori's becuase it was a 3 and 2 mile run, the shoes weigh next to nothing (i.e. faster foot turnover) and the'yre like slippers so they'd be perfect to get on and off for a duathon. I knew what I'd run last time for the course so I knew I needed all the help I could get to run a faster time for the first leg. Now let me stop right here and say that while I knew what times I wanted to run, I had no plan for said want. So...when the gun went off, I decided to move to the front of the pack. I thought we were running fast but I was afraid to look down at my Polar RCX5G5. Why? Well, if I was running too fast, I was afraid I'd decide to slow down too much. If I felt like I was running fast and glance down to see I was actually running slower, it would take the wind out of me. Looking over my HR data post race, it seems I turned the first mile in 6mins. Granted I was hoping to run fast but thats a little fast for still having a lot of racing left on the day. So...even without looking at my watch during the race, I thought the pace was fast. Rather than trying to catch anyone, I just focused on hanging with the lead group. No mile markers on the course made pacing a little more difficult too. I was more gassed than I thought I'd be nearing the end of the first leg. I completely forgot that the end of each leg (both runs and the bike) finished a 1/2 mile climb INTO the transition/finish. Yay! And by yay I mean it sucked! I came in off the first 3mi run leg at 19:29, knocking a full minute off the run the last time I did the event .

T1 went relatively smoothly. I was cold and my fingers did not want to cooperate with me at all but I got out of T1 in 1:21, was on the bike and on my way. The bike course is billed as "rolling". When I, and the 3 guys around me, all on tri bikes, spend alot of time up and out of the saddle rocking our bikes....that's not rolling, thats HILLY my friends. I will say, that with even the hills my P2 rode like butter. Unfortunately I hit a pothole right out of the start. I thought for sure I'd flat (the idea of the sexy "skinny" bike now being a terrible one) but luckily I did not. Nor did I when I hit another pothole around mile 8. Ugh. I made it through the bike course flat free and headed into transition. The end ride into the transisiton area was over grass. GRASS?! Are you kidding me. I'm riding a razor blade of a bike thats edgy on pavement and in order to get into transition I have to ride on grass! It was like riding through sand...slow and difficult to keep the bike moving and upright. Into T2 at 35:07 which put me at an 18.7mph pace. NOTHING exciting about that pace at all. Even though the pace wasnt fast, I guess it was fast enough to freeze my hands and feet because neither of them wanted to work in transition. AND...those great slipper Saucony Hattori's that I thought would be so easy to get on in T2...were not. Cold hands, and cold sweaty feet made those Hattori's feel two sizes too small. I couldn't get those shoes on for the life of me. That led to a T2 of 1:19. That is flat ridiculous for a bike to run transition! Angry and cold, I was off on the run.

The 3rd leg was 2 miles and to be honest it took almost a full mile just for me to warm up and settle into a pace. Once again, I didn't focus on my watch for time or pace and just ran as hard as I could. That 1/2 mile climb into the finish sucked even more this go round. I ended up crossing the line in 1:11:19, knocking a minute off my time on the coure, coming in 22nd overall and 4th in my AG by...wait for it...30 seconds. Crappy T2 kept me off the podium. If you don't think I'm gonna stew about that one until I can race that course again, then you don't know me very well. I dod accomplish my goal going into the race of bettering my time but not going into it with a solid race plan and poor execution kept me from being even faster. It was a good performance, not great and I have plenty of lessons learned going into the offseason.

The "Old Fashioned 10 Miler". The only thing "old fashioned" was the pain.

Of course I must remind you that I'm running the Boston Marathon this year on a charity number so I need to raise money in order to participate. If you are so inclined/motivated please click the donate button at the top right of my blog to donate to my cause and thank you in advance. Now onto the bloggy.

I have been struggling with not starting too fast and working hard to keep a steady pace while racing. If anything my posts, tweets, and Facebook status have showed you is I'm the "go as hard as you can" guy. Problem is you can get away with that for a 5k but once you stretch out to 10ks and beyond the idea of this mythical notion of "pace" becomes more and more important. The first 10k of my season, appropriately enough on New Years' Day (what better way to start the year I thought) I went out to turn the 1st mile in around 6 minutes and spent the race of the race trying to "settle" down. That effort led me to slowing down and being caught by very people I blew past at the start.

So being the good student, I decided to pick a long race a week in advance no less, as opposed to a couple days before which is my norm, and seeing if I could start "slow" and run a steady paced event. The race of the day was the "Old Fashioned 10 Miler" held in Foxborough MA. Luckily for me, one of my coworkers was running the race too and was hoping to run an 8-8:15min pace. How better to start well and then run negatives throughout I thought than to start with her? So, a light mile run to the start. Ya, I had no idea it was that far from the registration area but it was a great reason to get warmed up and tune the HR. We pushed our way along still iced over 3 foot snow banks to finally make our way to the front of the pack for the start. There we a lot of people racing today. A lot? Over 500 ran the event.

So while chatting about a run strategy with my coworker, the gun went off and the race was on. The course billed itself as "2 flat miles, 6 rolling miles and 2 flat miles". It may have been billed that way but couldn't be further from the truth. We were running uphill before even hitting the first mile marker. A quick glance down showed my HR at about 145 and we ran the first mile in 7:51. That's the slowest 1st mile I've run in a race in a long, very long time but I felt great! Pushing toward mile 2 my coworker said she was going too fast and was gonna lay of the gas. Goodbyes exchanged, we parted ways. I settled into a comfortable pace and the next thing I realize I hit mile 3 in 20 minutes. Guess I was feeling feel pretty good. Now it was all about keeping this comfortable pace and staying warm. Oh ya, did I forget to mention it was wicked cold?! We're talking 17degrees kiddies and with an equally wicked wind, the temp dipped down to the low teens. Brr, just brr.

This was a race of firsts all around. This race also had me wearing the most clothing I've ever worn for a race too. Nike head sock, Nike running gloves, under armor cold gear shirt, long sleeve t shirt, my new Polar running singlet and, and, and my new polar running jacket. Yes, it was cold kiddies. At one point I thought of taking off my jacket, rolling it up and running with it in my hand but then I'd hit a strip of shadowed road or a good gust would hit me and I thought better.

So while alternating opening and closing my jacket in rider to regulate heat I noticed a funny thing....I was actually ticking off miles at a steady 7:30 pace. Miles 4, 5, 6 ticked away and then toward the end of mile 7 was "the hill". Everest it was not but it was a climb nonetheless. So much so, you could almost hear my fellow runners' collective "pop" when they hit it. So if they hill is slowing them down then it's time to pump my arms and pass them. Which, I did like a champ however once I hit the top of the hill my hurt felt like it was gonna explode. A quick glance down to my Polar FT7 heart rate monitor showed my heart rate hit a dizzyingly high 236bpm. Less dizzy than black spot seeing which made me realize I need to adjust HR zones based on a massive max HR.

I have never been so happy to see a mile marker, even it it was only mile 8, even having 2 more to go.Mile 8 was tough however. I tried very hard to maintain my pace while getting my heart to settle down. Then there was mile 9. There is a certain happiness that comes from knowing you're closing in on the finish and it's only 7 to 7:30 minutes away. I wasn't familiar with the course so I gingerly started to get faster for fear theee was some dumb hill around the corner or I might gas out. After a few minutes I heard heard a local runner say there was about half a mile left so I tried to pick it up. I finished strong, crossing the line in 1:16:00 and flashed my new Polar togs with pride. I finished 138th overall out of 512, 118th male and 30th in my age group. Oh ya, this race seemed to be a training race for everybody in the Boston Athletic Association or ANYBODY who's racing Boston
So, first 10 miler in the bag (my first so it was a PR) with a decent result. Now I wonder if I can find another before the Army 10 Miler in October :)