Lake Run 12K Race Report

For my first race of the year, I decided to drive to Lake Bloomington and run the Lake Run 12K (7.47 miles). I've ran one other race (Dog Days 5K) that is a Lake Run Club owned race. They put on an excellent event and that was one of the reasons I chose this race plus how often do you get to run a 12K.

The morning started with me hitting the road at 6:00 AM. I figured it would take me 1 hour 20 minutes to get there and packet pick-up was only open from 7:00 to 8:00. Parking is available in the area but they advised to arrive early or you may have a long walk to the start/finish. I picked up my packet and headed back to the car for some relaxing. The race shirt was a short sleeve t-shirt... nothing fancy but a cool design.

After a short warm-up and some stretching, I ran into some other SRRC members (David, Nyle, Karen, Steve). Because this is a points race, the race had plenty of SRRC support. After the National Anthem (which was sung by the ladies winner), a LOUD cannon shot off and we were on our way. This event was chip timed but only when you crossed the finish. The start time was based on when the cannon exploded.

I was weaving in and out of people through the half mile. I wanted to stay with Steve Wagner. He told me he was wanting to run somewhere around 52/53 minutes. He was off with Nyle and Karen Rodgers and it took me everything to keep him in my sights. I was feeling good and hit mile 1 in 6:52. I backed off a bit and found a group of about 5 (including Steve) that I started running with. It was windy so I tried to let them do all the work while I sat in the back. I ended up running with most of the group for the next several miles. Steve eventually dropped off but I never knew how far. I kept my focus forward but I knew he had to be lurking somewhere behind me.

The scenery was awesome. You run around Lake Bloomington in its entirety. Other than the first mile (which is downhill), there isn't much flatness to the course. Nothing like the Lincoln Memorial or Abe's Amble but you notice all the rollers. And the last mile is a gradual uphill but we had the wind at our back. We stayed 4 or 5 strong from mile 2 through about 5. Mile 5 is where I got dropped. My breathing was all out of whack so I needed to slow down a bit and concentrate on my breathing. I was running solo but I kept my focus on a guy in front of me. My goal was to catch him by mile 7. With my breathing finally under control, I hit the point where the 4.37 mile race & the 12K meet. This motivated me since I was no longer running solo. I encouraged all the runners/walkers I encountered along the way and they did the same. I hit mile 7 and had caught the guy I wanted to catch. I picked up my pace for a strong finish and never looked back. As I rounded the last turn and saw the finish line, I gave it all I had left. Just prior to the finish line, I backed off a bit and Steve came flying by me. Damn!!! If only I would have run to the line! I can't complain about this race. I ended up 35th OA and 4th AG with a time of 53:49 (7:13 pace). Third place in my age group ran 7:07 miles and I knew that's where I needed to be but I couldn't hang today. Here are what my splits looked like:

6:52, 6:59, 7:00, 7:15, 7:21, 7:19, 7:20, & 3:30.

I hung around post race for the Avanti subs, granola bars, bananas, soda, and FREE beer. Gotta love a race that gives out free beer. After the awards, I headed back to SPI satisfied with what I had accomplished. It feels great to be back racing again after an injury plagued 2009. I would definately recommend this race or any race put on by the Lake Run Club.

Build Up Going Smooth

For the past several weeks, I have been trying to get into top form prior to hitting a new season of running. I've slowly built up my weekly tempo run to 6 miles running at 7:30 pace. My 10K pace 2 years ago was right at 7:00. My speed work is going well too. I'm trying to mix it up so I don't get bored doing the same workout over and over. Currently, I am doing my speed work at about 6:30 pace. It is feeling really good which means I'm not totally pushing it. When I finish these workouts, I feel like I could do either .5 more miles or 1 more interval.

My runs on the week-ends are going well. I'm running anywhere from 20-25 miles with one day being 12-16. All I'm trying to do with these runs are run as slow as I can stand and try to build up some endurance. It's easy to do that on a treadmill and as I found out this past week-end, it's not so easy do on the streets. I ended my 14 miler with an 8:50 average pace but I felt like I was running 9:15 pace. Guess that's a good sign.

I also run a little recovery run of 3-4 miles between my tempo and speed work days. With all that said, my weekly mileage is about right where I want it to be. I'm averaging anywhere from 32-40 miles per week.

I don't have any races coming up. Unfortunately, I won't be able to run the Lincoln Memorial since I'll be in Palm Springs and the Half in Champaign is out. I do plan on going to Bloomington to run the Lake Run in early May and will follow that up with the Passavat 10K in Jacksonville later in May.

My New Best Friend

So, for the past several weeks, me and my treadmill have really gotten to be best friends. I think I've been outside twice. One time was a 12 mile run and the other was for the Octopus, an intense hill workout.

So far, I am sitting at 111.5 mile for the month of January and I still have 1 week left to go. I can feel my endurance getting better. Other than my speed work, my runs are REALLY slow. I'm running long at about a 9:15 pace.

Tuesday night tempos are working out well. Last week, I ran 4 miles at my tempo pace (7:30) and I've built up to 8 x 400 @ 9.0 mph (6:40 pace). 1 more week of these and I should be ready to build up.

I feel like I am back after being injured and I am looking forward to getting fast again. My plan is to run in more road races this year and get back to under 20:00 for the 5k. I am planning on running the Lincoln Memorial Half and/or Champaign Half. Whichever one I try to take serious, I want to run under 1:40.

So far... So good

The past 4 and a half weeks have gone as planned. I in the process of building up my mileage... slowly. Week 1, 2, & 3 had long runs of 10, 12, & 14 miles with a 6-7 mile mid-week long run on Tuesdays, an easy 3-4 miles on Wednesdays, and some speed work on Thursdays. Sunday is typically the same distance as my mid-week long run.

After a cutback week of a 10 mile long run, which was accomplished on the treadmill, I am ready for 3 weeks of increased long runs starting at 16 and increasing by 2 miles each week. The mid-week long run will also increase respectively.

I'm not quite sure where I am heading for 2010 but one thing I am for sure of is that I will have a good running base established for whatever I decide to do. There is a trail run in late March that consists of a 14, 26.2, 37, and 50 mile runs that I am looking at. Depending on how the training goes between now and late February, I may try to tackle the 37 miler.

With the new year comes stairs. I'll replace my speedwork with the stairs in hopes that it will help strengthen my running.

Hopefully everyone has a safe New Year's and I'll see you on the roads in 2010.

Keeping Up

I have a hard time keeping up with this blog. I'd like to get in here and try to update it more frequently than I have. Maybe that will be my New Year's resolution.

Training has been going awesome so far this winter. I'm running 5 days a week while taking Monday and Friday off for rest. I'd like to build my base back up after being on the shelf for quite a while. In order to do so, I'm following my first marathon training plan and going to stop after I run my 20 miler. So, the plan calls for a mid week long rung run on Tuesday, easy run on Wednesday, speed on Thursday, LSD on Saturday, and medium run on Sunday. I'm going to resort to running on the treadmill maybe 2-3 of those runs. My speed is going to consist of 200's, 400's, and 800's. My peak week will be approximately 50 miles.

My goals for next year are runner longer races... 10K & 1/2 marathons with possibly a marathon somewhere along the way.

I'm feeling better than ever now. Although I was bummed about losing my fitness, it was probably a blessing a disguise. I feel fresh and ready to tackle some training again.

Happy Veteran's Day

Happy Veteran's Day to those past and present that have sacrificed so much in order to make our lives better in this world. I had the priviledge to serve in the Air Force. I even spent some time to Saudi Arabia during Desert Shield/Storm. What a crazy experience. I did my other duty today and donated blood. It's something easy I can do to help out plus you get drinks and treats when your done.

Tonight is an easy recovery night. After dinner, I plan on spinning easy on the recumbent bike. My legs need a break after my tempo workout yesterday in order to get ready for my speed work out on Thursday. My tempo run consisted of 2 miles at 7:30 pace with .5 warm up and cool down followed by some stretching.

Catching Up

I'm back to full blown training mode and it feel GREAT! I'm doing a little something everyday except for Fridays that are my scheduled rest days. I have a mix of tempo work, speed workout, and long runs mixed in with cross training on the bike.

This is how last week looked starting with...

Last Saturday & Sunday- Beautful day outside. I rode 20 miles after running 5 on Saturday. Took both days pretty easy. Trail was packed with runners and bikers.

Monday- Easy spinning for 30 minutes on the recumbent bike followed by some weights. It was nice to work the legs out a bit after the week-end. I also put my name in the lottery for the NYC Marathon.

Tuesday- 2 mile tempo run (7:30 pace) with warm-up and cool down. 3 miles total. I need to get my stamina/endurance back after the long layoff and these tempo runs will sure help. I was suffering at the end so I must be doing it right. 1 more week at 2 miles and then I increase to 2.5 miles.

Wednesday- Recumbent bike again. 40 minutes I think. The nice thing about the bike is that it has different preprogrammed work-outs. I did the "Cross Train" at level 2. I think the resistance level tops out at 6. It's a pretty tough workout.

Thursday- Speed workout of 5 X 400 running each 400 @ 1:40 with a 1:20 recovery jog. I planned to only do 4 but I felt good so I decided to do an extra. I totaled 30:00 for this workout if you count the warm up and cool down. I can feel my endurance and speed coming back slowly.

Friday- Off

Saturday- Long run day. After talking to the "Goofy" group, I decided to join them and the Frost Toes for a 7 mile run. This was going to be my longest run in quite some time. I forgot how enjoyable running can be when you skow down and enjoy it. I had a ball on todays run. Nothing crazy until we hit the Carillon hill. I felt myself wanting to go faster and faster. Nick was hanging with me and we slowed it down a bit. With about a mile to go, I couldn't hold back anymore. I was so used to pushing the last mile that I took off (You miss that Scott?). I finished the last mile @ 7:14 pace for a total of 7.25 miles. I screwed everyone up because I didn't remeber the running route so some ended up doing more that the 7. Sorry guys!

Sunday- Headed out on the bike for a long ride. I wasn't sure how far I was going to go. I had originally said 25 but that turned into 32. It was beautiful day with a strong breeze. I saw tons of people using the trail which is always good.

Hopefully I can stay healthy and keep weeks like this going. I'll have to keep my fingers crossed.