The alarm went off at 5:30. I rolled myself out of bed as my wife told me that she thought it best that she and the little one stay home from the race. Considering the cool weather and they were both fighting colds, it was a good decision. I wouldn't have my cheering section, but I knew I had their support.
After my usual bagel with PB and honey for breakfast, I grabbed my gear bag and left for downtown. Not surprisingly, the DVP was mostly empty, so I made good time, with the Drive-By Truckers cranked. I found a parking lot about five blocks from the starting area, close enough to walk, but removed enough for a quick escape after the race. Stepping out of the car, there was a squish underfoot. Looking down, I learned that one of the previous night's revelers had used this spot to relieve the contents of their stomach. Now I got to walk around with this on my shoe (luckily I hadn't changed to my race shoes yet), but I'm sure whoever it was didn't try to drive home afterwards. That wouldn't be safe.
A quick hike over to the host hotel to change and drop off my bag, then a few minutes to relax before jogging a stretch of road to warm up. The weather was still quite cool. I opted for thin gloves, since I have really poor circulation to my hands, and I didn't want to be distracted by numb fingers mid-race. I got to my corral (the fast but not elite corral) with a few minutes to spare, then started reviewing the race plan during the pre-race festivities. Since my summer of training hasn't been fantastic, with the heat and the general fatigue, I had three levels of goals:
C (the satisfied goal): sub 1:30 - it would be a PB and good milestone, but behind what I would expect.
B (the happy goal): sub 1:28 - based on other races and the online calculators, this is about where I should be, 1:27:30 give or take.
A (the ecstatic goal): sub 1:27 - this would require a good push and near-perfect conditions
Since the course profile is mostly flat, my plan was to hit 4:08-4:10/km through 15 or 16 km, then decide to pick it up, hold strong, or hold on for dear life to make these three goals. The anthems were done, the gun went off, and about twenty seconds later, I crossed the start line.
The Race:
The first couple of kilometers were hectic. With the big crowds, I couldn't fall into my pace for a while, dodging other runners, slowing and accelerating more than I would normally want. Given that the start comes down University with a little downward slope, I didn't like not taking advantage of free speed here, but I didn't have much choice. Once we turned onto Lakeshore, things opened up a bit. Unfortunately, this part runs underneath the Gardiner Expressway, so satellite reception was non-existent. The Garmin tried its best, but I'm pretty sure I didn't knock out a couple of 3:35 kms. The autolap was now about 300m off the actual race distance, so I was working from my instantaneous pace for the rest of the day. I took my first of two planned gels at the 3km mark, and once out in the open again, kept my pace in the 4:05-4:07 range. The effort was really manageable, hard enough to know I was working, but not a strain at all. This was a major change from the tempos I had run just six weeks ago.
There are only about four real climbs on the route, the first coming around 5k. I kept a solid effort, then opened my stride on the downhill. Then we hit a nice flat stretch as we passed Prince's Gates and the Exhibition Grounds. There was another longer drag upwards between 9-10km, with the accompanying downhill. It was around here that I saw the lead group of marathoners on their way back. What they're doing seems like a totally different sport. As I passed the 10k timing mats I checked the time. If I was holding 4:08, I should hit the mark at 41:20. Spotting 41:08, I felt pretty good about how things were going.
The course continued out to approximately 12.5k, where I spotted my old swim coach out to support his athletes. It's always nice to see a friendly face, and Adam crossed the median to give me more encouragement on my way back. If anyone in the GTA needs multisport coaching, you won't do much better than Endurance Lab, and if you're looking for coached indoor cycling workouts, check out WattsUp Cycling. Now I had the homeward stretch, two "kind of" climbs and a bit of a tailwind. I went for my second gel around 14k, but my chilly fingers in gloves weren't able to dig it out of the pocket in my shorts. Looks like Gatorade the rest of the way. I kept things in check through to 15k when the marathoners split off onto their longer course. Considering I was just starting to feel the day, those folks taking that pace for another 26k are pretty tough.
Following the plan, 15k was a decision point. I knew I was ahead of the 4:08 average, so I didn't think it was worth trying to accelerate quite yet. Just keep things here, and make another decision at 18k. The effort was building in my legs, but the pace was still pretty good. The last hill coming near 19k took a fair bit of speed off, but I kept up with folks around me, even moving forward a couple of places. There wasn't going to be much of an acceleration now. I had grooved this speed for 20k, and my legs weren't going to shift gears now.
The 20km flag was at the left-hand turn at the bottom of Bay Street. Just five minutes, give or take, to the end. I tried to kick up, but the street has a couple hundred yards of solid uphill, before settling into a false flat drag to the finish. The effort went up, but the speed didn't seem to change much. My mental processes for a finishing sprint at this point were, "OK, at 500m to go let it fly ... all right, from 200m to go ... how about the last 100m? ... OK, we're done, try to breathe and don't make a mess like the guy in the parking lot."
Official Results:
21.1 km, 1:27:24 gun time, 1:27:04 chip time
107th OA (out of 7894)/17th (out of 536) M35-39 gun, 106th OA chip
The Recap:
So, am I happy? You bet. The morning couldn't have turned out better. After the frustration of training this summer, I never would have guessed I could pull this out. Here's another score for "easy" running. Six weeks ago I quit with the intervals and such, and other than weekly 8" hill sprints and a couple of races, didn't run at a hard effort. Nothing even close to race pace, but I went out and knocked it out of the park. Lydiard knew what he was talking about. I'll study this some more, and apply it for the next couple of years.
Am I disappointed to miss the "ecstatic" goal by only five seconds? Only in the most superficial way. I don't know where I could have gotten those five seconds. Maybe if the first kilometer went smoother, and I didn't lose a second or two digging for that other gel. Maybe if I actually got to take the gel I would have had a bit more gas. Maybe if I knew I needed five seconds with 2k to go I could have dug that little deeper. That's a whole bunch of maybes with nothing concrete. The fact is, I ran my heart out and finished better than I expected. Maybe I didn't leave it all on the course, but I didn't bring much home either. I know this based on the cheering in the last few hundred metres. Folks would be cheering, until I got closer and they would watch me with a look of concern until I safely passed by, and go back to cheering. Yay, Stroke Face!
Throwing this result in the calculators, I am now a confirmed 53 VDOT, not just based on a "well, if it wasn't hilly or so hot or I tapered - could have" time. As well, I'm now predicted to run faster than I have for 5-10k. I think this is an indication that my strength lies in the longer distances, half-mary and up. (But we kind of knew that already, didn't we?)
Maybe I'll do this again in a couple of years to mark the progress. The half course really lends itself to fast times, without the fraudulent downhill nature of some of the other big local races (Toronto Marathon, Sporting Life 10k). Now I'll take an easy recovery week before starting back on the building aerobic mileage plan. Two and half years to get ready, and I'm fully energized.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Steeper Coming Back - Springbank Road Races 5k Race Report
It was just a 5k, so there isn't a whole lot of report in this Race Report. The family and I headed down to London the day before to stay and play with our friends, letting the kids eye up their competition for the next few years. The night went about as smoothly as it could, given that a four month old was expected in sleep somewhere other than her own bed for the first time. There were a few wake-ups, but I actually got a decent night's sleep.
We made it to the race site about an hour before the gun was to go off, so after check-in I could get in a few kilometres of warm-up/scouting. The weather was just about perfect for a race morning, temperatures around 13-15, no wind, cloudy, maybe a bit humid from the rain the night before. As I was out for my jog, the half-marathon started and got swarmed by the "go longer" crowd. I tried to stay out of the way as much as possible, sneaking off course to turn around, and avoid getting the way on my return trip. Far from a flat loop, the course had a few significant climbs, including the big one coming back, leading into a false flat drag to the line. It would make pacing a challenge.
Once we were gathered to the start, I lined up second row, expecting I would be one of the faster people. Right from the gun, I was swarmed from behind by a number of runners, most likely headed out a bit quicker than their abilities would dictate. Even by 400m, I was getting back a bunch of the spots I lost early. I used the downhill part of the first kilometre and a half to carry some good speed over the few rises, and felt OK for the most part. I don't normally do well at these shorter races, since I just don't have the natural speed. I continued to pick off a runner or two until the turnaround, but by then we had mostly fallen into our respective places. From that point on, I only gained one more spot. I am proud to say that I was never passed after that initial flurry, so I didn't have the collapse of two weeks ago.
The big hill coming back, even though I knew it was coming, just sucked all the speed out of my legs. I kept a good posture and a quick turnover to minimize the damage. Then it was time to get to the line. With any luck, there weren't any race photographers at that point, because I was in full-on Stroke Face*. As I rounded the corner to see the line, I could make out that the clock was 18:3x. Shooting for a sub-19, I started to "sprint", which translates closer to "try really hard but maintain the same speed". Unfortunately the clock ticked over before I could make it, but I gave it all I had.
Official results:
19:12 Gun Time, 19:11 Chip Time, 14th overall, 3rd M30-39
How does this compare to my goals? Well, I kind of had sub-19 as a minimum goal, but the course was pretty tough. I'd say I would be 10-15 seconds faster on flatter loop. Also, I did run 18k yesterday, since this was a "train through" race, which was probably 1-2 seconds per km. And sleeping in an unfamiliar bed, with a baby waking up every few hours, probably cost me a bit too. So sure, I'm making excuses, but I think this points to my fitness being about where I'd want it, at 18:45-18:50 shape. At least that's how I'm taking it, and that's a nice confidence boost in my mind. I fought all the way to the end, which I haven't done in a race for a while. I accepted the suffering and kept at it as best I could. Now I'll take this into the 'A' race in two weeks time.
*credit to Dave Roche for the racing term "Stroke Face"
We made it to the race site about an hour before the gun was to go off, so after check-in I could get in a few kilometres of warm-up/scouting. The weather was just about perfect for a race morning, temperatures around 13-15, no wind, cloudy, maybe a bit humid from the rain the night before. As I was out for my jog, the half-marathon started and got swarmed by the "go longer" crowd. I tried to stay out of the way as much as possible, sneaking off course to turn around, and avoid getting the way on my return trip. Far from a flat loop, the course had a few significant climbs, including the big one coming back, leading into a false flat drag to the line. It would make pacing a challenge.
Once we were gathered to the start, I lined up second row, expecting I would be one of the faster people. Right from the gun, I was swarmed from behind by a number of runners, most likely headed out a bit quicker than their abilities would dictate. Even by 400m, I was getting back a bunch of the spots I lost early. I used the downhill part of the first kilometre and a half to carry some good speed over the few rises, and felt OK for the most part. I don't normally do well at these shorter races, since I just don't have the natural speed. I continued to pick off a runner or two until the turnaround, but by then we had mostly fallen into our respective places. From that point on, I only gained one more spot. I am proud to say that I was never passed after that initial flurry, so I didn't have the collapse of two weeks ago.
The big hill coming back, even though I knew it was coming, just sucked all the speed out of my legs. I kept a good posture and a quick turnover to minimize the damage. Then it was time to get to the line. With any luck, there weren't any race photographers at that point, because I was in full-on Stroke Face*. As I rounded the corner to see the line, I could make out that the clock was 18:3x. Shooting for a sub-19, I started to "sprint", which translates closer to "try really hard but maintain the same speed". Unfortunately the clock ticked over before I could make it, but I gave it all I had.
Official results:
19:12 Gun Time, 19:11 Chip Time, 14th overall, 3rd M30-39
How does this compare to my goals? Well, I kind of had sub-19 as a minimum goal, but the course was pretty tough. I'd say I would be 10-15 seconds faster on flatter loop. Also, I did run 18k yesterday, since this was a "train through" race, which was probably 1-2 seconds per km. And sleeping in an unfamiliar bed, with a baby waking up every few hours, probably cost me a bit too. So sure, I'm making excuses, but I think this points to my fitness being about where I'd want it, at 18:45-18:50 shape. At least that's how I'm taking it, and that's a nice confidence boost in my mind. I fought all the way to the end, which I haven't done in a race for a while. I accepted the suffering and kept at it as best I could. Now I'll take this into the 'A' race in two weeks time.
*credit to Dave Roche for the racing term "Stroke Face"
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
