Race Report: Braves Country 5k

Stats/Goals
Distance: 5 km
Location: Turner Field, Atlanta, GA
Current PR:  20:42 (February 2013, Preservation 5k, Savannah, GA)
90% Goal: 21:30
50% Goal: 20:42
10% Goal: 20:00

Result: 20:23 (http://tinyurl.com/orn7274)
Mile Splits: 5:55, 6:46, 6:58 (from GPS)

Summary
Getting PRs is always nice.  I'm not sure that I left much time on the course today, but the biggest thing I came away from today is that I know I can run sub-20.  I just need to go out and do it.

Pre-Race
Lots of water last night.  Clif bar when I woke up at 5:00.  Gatorade and banana while waiting for the race to start.  Nutrition was not an issue.

Seeing the other run leads, coaches, and trainees was very energizing.  Only ran about a half mile in my warm-up, but I ran it hard.

Race
The first mile was, in a word, fast.  The course clock said 6.  My watch said 5:55.  Either way, That was about 20-25 seconds too fast and I paid for it in the second half.  I wanted to stop on every uphill for the last half of the course.  I dialed it back some, but pushed through.

The course was a lot hillier than I expected from looking at elevation maps.  No big hills, just your standard Atlanta rolling hills.  Conditions were also very humid.  It didn't get very warm until after the race, but it was still uncomfortably sticky during the race.

Post Race
3-4 of our run leads snagged age group awards.  Not a lot of PRs in that group, but a good time was had.  Lots of PRs from our trainees.  I tried to track down Angelina to run her in, but instead got snagged to do an interview for some local-access show.  She rocked OUT in her run and was able to go a lot faster than she had planned.

Conclusion
I don't think it's possible to be disappointed by a PR, but I think today was close.  I've been knocking on the door of 20 minutes for a while now (3 races under 21 minutes).  Granted, the other two races were both very flat and ideal conditions.  Dropping 19 seconds in a hot and hilly race is awesome.  I'm probably too hard on myself, but if I'm not being my worst critic, then I won't get any better.

Race Report: Ragnar Chicago

Stats/Goals

Distance: 18.5ish miles, split across 3 legs

Location: Between Madison, WI and Chicago, IL

Goals: Don't get hurt, have fun, handle it better than Gulf Coast 2014.  Team goal 

Result: 29:04:17 for the full course.  88th out of 356 teams in the division 

http://www.ragnarrelay.com/i/Chicago/RagnarRelay_Results.pdf

Summary

Team relays create a lot of unique challenges that have nothing to do with the running.  Logistics, digestion, and sleep all play a major factor.  Either way, the primary goal of the weekend was to go out, run (somewhat) hard, and have a blast.

Details

Prep

We assembled all of our things.  The packing lists we made from the last relay served us well.  I don't think we forgot anything major.

Key Items (not an extensive list):

• 3 running outfits (each in a gallon Ziploc bag)
• 2+ pairs of shoes
• Travel pillow (my neck pillow always outperforms expectations)
• Blanket (used more for padding on the sides of the van than as a blanket)
• Clif bars
• "Bum it" clothes - PJ pants/Hoodie
• Baby wipes (post-run "showers")

Things I wanted:

• A cold weather option shirt.  For this race, a single under armor would have sufficed, but it was warm enough on the night leg
• A pair of swishy pants.  Basically, pants that weren't PJ pants in case the wind kicked up

Start

The drives up and back were fun, but super uneventful.  I'll skip to the race.

Ragnar compels each team who has at least one member who lives within 100 miles of the course to provide 3 volunteer shifts lasting 6 hours.  Unfortunately, the people we had lined up in the Chicago area weren't able to get sites close enough, so we were faced with paying $360 or providing those volunteer shifts from our ranks.

So, Brad, Steve, and I headed to the start line at 0300.  I think we ended up at about the best job.  We were working with the MC who was signing in teams at the start line, announcing them, and waving the start flag every 15-30 minutes.  Tons better than trying to hand out free stuff in a bag.

0900 rolled around eventually and our replacements even arrived early, so we took off to hang out with our team who all arrived in one piece.  To my great surprise, we were greeted by our paper mache mascot, Pancakes.  We ended up carrying this large, pink, elephant head around  the whole course.

Jody got started at 0930 and team Pink Elephants on Parade was underway.  Van 2 (my van) headed back to the hotel so Steve and I could get a quick shower and breakfast.  We drove off to exchange 6 where we would be starting our first legs in a few hours.

Leg 1

Going into the race, one of our runners, unfortunately, had to bow out due to sickness.  Because Steve and I had volunteered  pre-race (and we were both at the highest mileage already in the van), we let the three girls from Chicago split the bonus legs how they chose.  The worst part about this was it created a big of a pace disparity between the two vans.  Our slowest runner was the one who stayed home, so her miles were getting replaced with 3-5 min/mile faster.  This meant that Van 1 saw  less downtime than they might have liked.

My first leg was, in a word, fast.  I didn't intend on throwing it all out there, but I felt good (despite the 0230 wakeup) and was going on two days rest.  I maintained about a 7 minute pace through the first 10k.  For the last mile, I backed off to a 7:30.  While I don't have a chip time to prove it, I'm pretty sure that run was a new 10k PR.  Based on my GPS watch, if I ran the last quarter at an even pace, I ran about a 43:56 (vs 44:07 PR).  Boom.

Leaving exchange 12 (van 1's second leg) was a shitfest.  It was a very long/narrow parking lot with 1 entrance/exit and everyone was trying to get out at once.  We ended up taking van 1's second runner to the next exchange for them because they were blocked in.  Unfortunately, this ate into our downtime at exchange 18.  However, I still managed to get some food in me and a little sleep in the quiet area.

Leg 2

This was our night leg.    Unfortunately, we had a bit of a miscommunication with Van 1 and we weren't ready when their runner came across.  That, plus a separate SNAFU Van 1 had all on their own meant we were 35-40 minutes behind where we should have been.  Oh well.

I ended up running leg 2 on full anger mode.  Sleep-deprived Jerry was irritated, so I started super fast (but still slower than my Leg 1 pace) but still got passed by the fastest team.  Seriously, it felt like I was standing still when this guy blew by me at about a 5 min pace.  Crazy.

I had been a little worried about the leg, because the map advertised it as running with traffic (something I'm loathed to do, even in full sunlight).  Fortunately, I didn't have to do that.  Instead, it took us under the highway to a creepy greenway.  I was happy to always have a few other runners' lights in view.

I managed to sleep for much of the last leg in our van as well as the drive to exchange 30.  It was *very* necessary.  I snagged some pancakes and downed a Clif bar while getting another hour or so of rest.

Leg 3

For this leg, I donned Terry's bright pink Superman shirt.  A woman at the start cheered me on as I left "Go Superman! You're super pink!  And super fast!"  It felt great.  I kept a comfortable pace until half way in where I had to stop to walk.  My abs were quite literally tired and exhausted.  I picked it back up for the last mile and a half, but it was still my slowest leg by far.

Takeaway

I was in a lot better shape this year than last and my body felt it.  Mileage was less, but I think I would have been fine on more miles, so long as I paced myself slower.  At Gulf Coast, I think we valued sleep too highly and food not highly enough.  However, that race was longer (260 miles) so it went through two nights.  I think the #1 issue there is that I don't want to do a relay that goes over two nights.  No digestive issues and no issues with being "unable to eat" like I had at Gulf Coast.

The single biggest thing to do at the next relay is each time a runner is about to start, someone should post a picture, start time, and estimated finish time at the start of every leg to the Facebook group.  This is so people remember what to look for (what color shirt was he wearing?) and so the other van is getting regular updates on the group progress and can prepare accordingly.

I wanted to do a few simulated Ragnars at home (Morning/Evening/Morning or Evening/Morning/Evening training) but I never made the time for it .  I don't feel it's really necessary, so long as I'm getting 25-30 miles per week.

Race Report: Atlanta Track Club Grand Prix Mile

Stats/Goals

Distance: 1 mile

Location: Emory University, Atlanta, GA

Current PR: 6:02 (2001, PE Timed mile @ Ocean Lakes High School)

"Recent" PR: 6:09 (2014, ATC Prediction Mile)

90% Goal: 6:10

50% Goal: 6:00

10% Goal: 5:45

Result: 5:55

1/4 Splits: 1:23, 1:24, 1:29, 1:36 (from GPS, so it doesn't add evenly)

Summary

A day at work, a car accident, Atlanta rush hour, and thunderstorms all conspired to thwart my attempt at a new mile PR.  Fortunately, the forces of good triumphed over the forces of evil and created an awesome evening.

Details

Trek to the Track

Yesterday was daunting just to make it to Emory.  The plan was to leave work by 4:00, grab some fast-food dinner, and carpool there.

I ended up having a 3:00 meeting, but I was still able to duck out on time, change, and hop in the car with plenty of time to... until I got rear-ended less than a mile from the office.  Awesome.

We pull to the side and I took a quick inventory of my body.  It was a low-speed collision, so I wasn't overly concerned.  Once I was satisfied that I was uninjured, I furiously messaged people to let them know not to wait on me and called Angelina to let her know I'm in one piece.

I had given the guy a few minutes to be the first to do the polite "are you ok?", but he was still sitting on the phone.  So I got out of my car and asked him (he was fine).  After I walked off to start taking pictures, he sheepishly got out and to ask how I was.  I called Alpharetta PD and a car was already dispatched, but it was another 45 minutes before I'm able to drive out of there.

I dug into what was supposed to be my "hour before race Clif bar" while driving down.  Traffic on 400 and downtown was 45 minutes worse than it should have been, but it wasn't too bad because school is out.  I was a little shaken from the accident, so my mental plan was to get to the track and walk somewhere to get some food.  It's a college, so there HAS to be food nearby...right?

All Comers

Unfortunately, there was no food nearby (2 miles and 30 mins of traffic for Wendy's? ugh...), but a friend spotted me another energy bar and Angelina has a spare half-PB&J, so my hunger was sated at least temporarily.

This is only the second track meet I've ever gone to (the first was earlier this summer).  The Track Club puts on a series of weekly meets at Emory throughout the summer.  They are a mix of activities for young kids, stiff competition for the Middle/High School aged kids, and all levels between the ATC Elites and walkers for the adults.

Angelina had put together a group with one of the other run leaders and two of our trainees for the 4x400 relay.  I ran around taking pictures of them going around the track.  Everyone had a great time and Angelina managed to cut a few seconds off of the 400 from a few weeks ago.

I knew my race would take a long time to get started.  There were 11 heats before mine and the first one didn't get going until around 8:40.  I had no plans to warm up until the first six had finished.

As the first one started, foreboding clouds with occasional lightning strikes started rolling in.  During the second, they announced they would be delaying the meet.  Awesome.

It's Like Raaaaaaaiiiinnnn...

We took shelter, but it never really rained much.  There were a few loud thunderclaps and close strikes, so it was certainly for the best, but no less disappointing.  We had some great conversation with friends and played with an adorable dog.

As the evening had worn on, my right calf and heel had started tightening up.  I'm not exactly sure what was wrong.  It didn't quite feel like PF, but I couldn't get it loose until after I got home and some time with the lacrosse ball.

Time ticked by and we all were starting to get worried that it would get cancelled completely.  I had really no hope of getting any kind of focus together the prepare for the race.  A few of the Track Club people came by to let us know we'd get Grand Prix participation, but that wasn't my goal for the evening anyways.

10:00 rolled around.  Storm had largely died down and people were making their way back onto the track.  We wandered outside and found a significantly diminished crowd.  We had ten minutes to warm up, and then they were going to let us run.  Unfortunately, that meant running everyone in just two heats with no official times or results.

Race

Still a little unsure about my calf, I took two and a half warm-up laps sprinkled with some quick striders.  The leg felt fine while running, so I decided I could still go for my pace.  I didn't have any time for any coordinated pre-race ritual stretching, but, being an evening race, I was pretty well limbered up already.  If anything, I was mostly worried about being out of the game mentally from the long day.

They divided us into two groups (faster/slower than 7:00).  The faster group lined up first.  I was about three deep from the line, which ended up being right about where I should have been.

I went through the first turn much faster than my 6:00 target pace just for positioning concerns.  I eventually settled in and felt a lot more comfortable than I thought I would for clearing the first lap in 1:25.  There were two kids (around 12) around me that were just flying.

I slowed down a bit for the second and third laps (watching the clock, both were around 1:30).  Going into the first turn of lap four, I got passed by a friend who I knew was also aiming for just-under-six.  So, I stayed right behind her.  We came around for the home stretch and I was able to kick a little bit for the last 50m.  When I could see the clcok, I knew all I had to do was keep my legs moving, I was easily going to break 6.

In the end, I think I had another 10 seconds in me that I could have pushed.  Regardless, the mile was the only distance I ever really "ran" in high school, so it was the only timed record I still had.  I've known for a long time that I'm in a lot better shape than I was then, but it's nice to finally supplant that last record.

It was certainly a roundabout journey, but this race was exactly what I wanted.