Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Du Run Run Duathlon
On Sunday, June 15, 2008, I competed in my first multisport event, the Music City Du Run Run Duathlon. This event was a 2 mile run, a 10 mile bike, and another 2 mile run.
Other than running, I didn't train for it. I did a little bike riding while on vacation at Hilton Head Island, SC last month. Then I borrowed a friend's road bike and another friend's bike rack, so I could enter the duathlon. A few days before the race, I did one 8.5 mile ride on my friend's bike to get used to it and to get an idea of what kind of pace I should expect.
On race day, things went smoothly until the 2nd run. When I hopped off the bike, my legs felt weird, and when I started running, they felt like I was drunk. It wasn't pretty. I ended up walking 8 times in the last 2 miles, which is sad. I really wish the 2nd run had gone better, but I guess I should have expected that given my lack of bike-to-run training. My official race results are below.
Run 1 - 13:59
Transition 1 - 0:37
Bike - 32:10
Transition 2 - 0:37
Run 2 - 17:28
Total - 1:04:50
M35-39 - 12 out of 29
Overall - 74 out of 280
Now I'm in the mood to do a triathlon or two (e.g., Cedars of Lebanon Triathlon and Old Hickory Lake Triathlon), but I'll definitely be training for them. I'm taking a Triathlete Swimming class starting next Wednesday at Excel Aquatics in Brentwood, TN. And I'll certainly be doing some "brick" workouts to get used to the bike-to-run transition!
Other than running, I didn't train for it. I did a little bike riding while on vacation at Hilton Head Island, SC last month. Then I borrowed a friend's road bike and another friend's bike rack, so I could enter the duathlon. A few days before the race, I did one 8.5 mile ride on my friend's bike to get used to it and to get an idea of what kind of pace I should expect.
On race day, things went smoothly until the 2nd run. When I hopped off the bike, my legs felt weird, and when I started running, they felt like I was drunk. It wasn't pretty. I ended up walking 8 times in the last 2 miles, which is sad. I really wish the 2nd run had gone better, but I guess I should have expected that given my lack of bike-to-run training. My official race results are below.
Run 1 - 13:59
Transition 1 - 0:37
Bike - 32:10
Transition 2 - 0:37
Run 2 - 17:28
Total - 1:04:50
M35-39 - 12 out of 29
Overall - 74 out of 280
Now I'm in the mood to do a triathlon or two (e.g., Cedars of Lebanon Triathlon and Old Hickory Lake Triathlon), but I'll definitely be training for them. I'm taking a Triathlete Swimming class starting next Wednesday at Excel Aquatics in Brentwood, TN. And I'll certainly be doing some "brick" workouts to get used to the bike-to-run transition!
Labels: Running
Sunday, April 27, 2008
2008 Country Music Half
I finished yesterday's Country Music Half Marathon in 1:45:37, which was over an 8 minute PR for me. It was also much faster than my 2:14:47 last year. Just about everything went right, including the weather. It rained all morning right up until the start of the race, but then it stopped. During the race it stayed cool and overcast, and the wind was very mild.
The only thing that went wrong was I accidentally started off in corral 4 instead of in corral 5 with the 1:45 pacer. I somehow got ahead of the rope when the corrals moved forward. So I ran an 8:20 pace until the pacer caught me in mile 4, then I hung with him until the end (at a little under an 8:00 pace). Overall, it probably did me some good to start off slower the first 3 miles. I hadn't done any warm-up since I was trying to stay out of the rain as long as possible.
Here are my final splits and stats from the race:
The only thing that went wrong was I accidentally started off in corral 4 instead of in corral 5 with the 1:45 pacer. I somehow got ahead of the rope when the corrals moved forward. So I ran an 8:20 pace until the pacer caught me in mile 4, then I hung with him until the end (at a little under an 8:00 pace). Overall, it probably did me some good to start off slower the first 3 miles. I hadn't done any warm-up since I was trying to stay out of the rain as long as possible.
Here are my final splits and stats from the race:
- 5K: 26:01 (8:23)
- 6Mi: 49:02 (8:11)
- 10Mi: 1:20:13 (8:02)
- Finish: 1:45:37 (8:04)
- O'All: 1335 / 21398 (6.2%)
- Sex: 1040 / 7921 (13.1%)
- Div (M35-39): 162 / 1249 (13%)
- Age Grade: 57.10%
Last year, the CM Half was my first huge race (>5000 people), and it was exciting because of all the fanfare. But this year, I guess I'm just older and more crotchety because I found all the fanfare annoying. It really made me appreciate small, quiet local races that have no expo, crowds, corrals, chips, bands, buses, spectators, charities, certification, or cheerleaders. I like quiet running with beautiful scenery.
My next race is the Wild Thang 9 Mile Trail Run in Long Hunter State Park this Saturday (May 3, 2008). My next big, long-term goal is the Greenway Marathon on October 4, 2008.
Labels: Running
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
iGoogle Gadget for RunningAHEAD Users
I wrote a little iGoogle gadget today that displays a user's total distances from RunningAHEAD.com. It uses the scripts feature that you can access from your RA Tools menu. The gadget is not fancy, but it allows you to set its title and the log ID for the user you want to track. You can add multiple instances of it to your iGoogle page if you want to track multiple users.
Click the following link to see a screenshot and optionally add it to your iGoogle page: RunningAHEAD Distance Totals
By default, it will show my log totals, so you'll probably want to change it to show your own or someone else's. Click "Edit Settings" off the drop down menu in the gadget's upper right corner to change the title and log ID. The log ID is not the person's RunningAHEAD user name. It's the long hexadecimal string from the user's summary page URL. For example, the URL to my log summary page is http://www.runningahead.com/logs/23fbfe3407d54034bb604d607cb56919. So the log ID for me is 23fbfe3407d54034bb604d607cb56919.
Note: A user must have their log shared publically (i.e., for everyone to access it) in order for the scripts to work. So if your log is private, then you won't be able to use it with this gadget.
Click the following link to see a screenshot and optionally add it to your iGoogle page: RunningAHEAD Distance Totals
By default, it will show my log totals, so you'll probably want to change it to show your own or someone else's. Click "Edit Settings" off the drop down menu in the gadget's upper right corner to change the title and log ID. The log ID is not the person's RunningAHEAD user name. It's the long hexadecimal string from the user's summary page URL. For example, the URL to my log summary page is http://www.runningahead.com/logs/23fbfe3407d54034bb604d607cb56919. So the log ID for me is 23fbfe3407d54034bb604d607cb56919.
Note: A user must have their log shared publically (i.e., for everyone to access it) in order for the scripts to work. So if your log is private, then you won't be able to use it with this gadget.
Labels: Running
Sunday, April 20, 2008
My Second Age Group Award
Yesterday at the Walk & Roll - Focus on Abilities 5K, I came in third overall and first in my age group (M30-39). So that's two age group awards in two weeks! This time I hung around to get the award, and it included more in gift certificates than I spent on the race. Making a profit on a race is cool. I'm really glad I decided to run this one. I hadn't planned on it, but the opportunity presented itself at the last minute.
Unfortunately, my age group award streak will be broken this week at the Country Music Half Marathon. I'm in corral 6, so there will be 5000 runners starting ahead of me. It seems highly unlikely that I'll be one of the top three men in the 35-39 age group. Last year the top three in that age group finished in 1:18:45 or less, which is 35 minutes faster than I've ever run a half. They were all in the top 25 runners in the CM Half. It would take a miracle of Biblical proportions for me to run that fast this weekend.
Unfortunately, my age group award streak will be broken this week at the Country Music Half Marathon. I'm in corral 6, so there will be 5000 runners starting ahead of me. It seems highly unlikely that I'll be one of the top three men in the 35-39 age group. Last year the top three in that age group finished in 1:18:45 or less, which is 35 minutes faster than I've ever run a half. They were all in the top 25 runners in the CM Half. It would take a miracle of Biblical proportions for me to run that fast this weekend.
Labels: Running
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
My First Age Group Award
At Saturday's Purity Moosic City Dairy Dash 10K I got my first age group award! Or at least I qualified for it. I came in third in my age group (M35-39), but I didn't know it because I had to leave immediately after the race to take my son to swimming lessons (indoors!). The official results weren't posted until three days later, so I didn't find out until yesterday that I'd actually placed. I emailed the RD, and he said he'd mail me my award.
I realize this is minor in "the grand scheme of things", but it's pretty motivational to me. It makes the hard work seem a little less hard and a little more satisfying. Hopefully, this won't be the last age group award I get!
Overall, my running is getting better. I'm running faster, smoother, and finishing stronger. My pacing is getting better in my training runs and in my races. And I've lowered several PRs this year:
I realize this is minor in "the grand scheme of things", but it's pretty motivational to me. It makes the hard work seem a little less hard and a little more satisfying. Hopefully, this won't be the last age group award I get!
Overall, my running is getting better. I'm running faster, smoother, and finishing stronger. My pacing is getting better in my training runs and in my races. And I've lowered several PRs this year:
- 5K = 22:44 (7:20) at the Tom King 5K
- 10K = 48:12 (7:46) at the Purity 10K
- Half Marathon = 1:53:58 (8:42) at the Frostbite Half
Next up is the Country Music Half Marathon on April 26. I'm hoping for another PR there, of course.
Labels: Running
