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Would you run faster if... (Read 354 times)


Latent Runner

    I was thinking about this thread during my run this morning and remembered a race I ran back in September.

     

    The scene was the first 5K our company fielded a team for, and the two "studs" of the team, a young buffed out 31 year old and a well conditioned 40 year old guy were bugging each other by comparing recent race times ranging from 5Ks to half marathons.  I hadn't run but one 5K in the previous 34 years and simply shut my mouth and listened to them "beat" each other before the gun had even gone off.

     

    After the gun I somehow came out of the pack a bit ahead of them, but a quarter of a mile into it, they both went by me like a shot.  I settled into a good fast, albeit slightly uncomfortable, pace and focused on the task at hand.  As I was approaching the 2-mile mark I saw the next runner in front of me was my 31 year old teammate, I gave him a, "Looking good" as I went by and didn't give it too much thought.  A half of a mile later I was starting to run out of gas just as I recognized the 40 year old guy; I debated with myself as to whether I should push the pace a bit longer and try for a pass, or to settle in behind him and ride out the finish.  I stepped it up passed him; my body complained.  My brain said, "Don't you dare slow down and let him pass you back," my body said, "yeah, you suck."

     

    I kept the hammer down as much as I could and ended up beating Mr. 40 by about 20 seconds and Mr. 31 by about a minute.  I guess I would have to answer the original question as, "Both!"

    Fat old man PRs:

    • 1-mile (point to point, gravity assist): 5:50
    • 2-mile: 13:49
    • 5K (gravity assist last mile): 21:31
    • 5-Mile: 37:24
    • 10K (first 10K of my Half Marathon): 48:16
    • 10-Mile (first 10 miles of my Half Marathon): 1:17:40
    • Half Marathon: 1:42:13


    Walk-Jogger

      Well done, Shipo! Two thumbs up!

       

      I set my  50+ 10K PR and probably ran one of the best races of my life a couple years ago at age 56 while trying my absolute hardest to beat a high-school kid for 4th place over-all in a local 10k race. We ran neck to neck for the entire second half of the race, traded places a couple times, but in the end he out-sprinted me by two steps. But I  set a huge PR, and I assume he probably did also. He also stopped immediately as soon a he entered the finishing chute, and I slammed into him at full speed, but that's a different story...

      Retired &  Loving It


      Latent Runner

        Thanks Cecil,

         

        I'm thinking my 50+ PRs are going have to wait until next year after I (hopefully) lose another twenty or so pounds.

         

        Regarding the whole race a young'un to the finish only to be out sprinted at the finish thing, yeah, I hear you.  When I was racing in my teens, twenties and early thirties, I almost always won finish line sprints (I'm sure I lost a few but I don't remember any).  This year, the first year I've run any races since 1990, I was reeling in this guy (who per the published results was 25 years my junior) I'd been chasing for the last mile or so of the 10-Miler I ran on Labor Day weekend.  As we rounded the final turn about two-hundred yards to the finish, I turned on the jets and blew past him, for about oh, maybe ten feet.  He suddenly woke up and returned the favor, blowing past me and not looking back.  In the end he beat me by a whopping 17 seconds.  Humbling, very humbling.  Smile

        Fat old man PRs:

        • 1-mile (point to point, gravity assist): 5:50
        • 2-mile: 13:49
        • 5K (gravity assist last mile): 21:31
        • 5-Mile: 37:24
        • 10K (first 10K of my Half Marathon): 48:16
        • 10-Mile (first 10 miles of my Half Marathon): 1:17:40
        • Half Marathon: 1:42:13


        CT JEFF

          shipo and cecil - great stories. The imagery makes me want to go out and RUN!

           

          My best "finishing sprint" story was a local 5k. This is my first year running, and monthly I was noticing improving times. I was registered as a clydesdale so during this run I was looking for big guys like me. I kept a decent pace up until mile 2, then the uphill was over and my downhill fun began. Got to reel in one guy early in the downhills. Then another. On the final stretch (0.25mi) I decided to push to try and get this one more guy. As soon as I pushed past him, I didnt slow down, but I thought, "if he has one more sprint in him, he has this, because I dont have any more in me" - I beat him but then later realized none of the guys who I was chasing down were listed in the CLY group. Still turned out to be my best race of the summer.

          RUN SAFE.     Barefoot 1st: 6/9/13. PR: 5k=22:50 10k=47:46 HM 1:51. FM 4:28 Oct 2015 joined RUN 169!

           


          Latent Runner

            shipo and cecil - great stories. The imagery makes me want to go out and RUN!

             

            My best "finishing sprint" story was a local 5k. This is my first year running, and monthly I was noticing improving times. I was registered as a clydesdale so during this run I was looking for big guys like me. I kept a decent pace up until mile 2, then the uphill was over and my downhill fun began. Got to reel in one guy early in the downhills. Then another. On the final stretch (0.25mi) I decided to push to try and get this one more guy. As soon as I pushed past him, I didnt slow down, but I thought, "if he has one more sprint in him, he has this, because I dont have any more in me" - I beat him but then later realized none of the guys who I was chasing down were listed in the CLY group. Still turned out to be my best race of the summer.

             

            Congratulations on a great race and an even better finish!  Cool

             

            I was well into the CLY category when I started running earlier this year, and as I was thinning down I joined our company running team.  The first race we entered, the one I referenced above with Mr. 31 and Mr. 40, had a CLY classification with the weight limit set to 190.  As I had newly descended below 200 for the first time in over a decade, I thought I might have a shot at doing some damage as a CLY; no such luck.  I ran a 23:39 for the 5K and got soundly beaten by a bunch of kids from the local university hockey team, all of whom were over 200 and all of whom ran sub twenty minutes.  Yeesh!

             

            As a side note, the guy who finished second overall (by 20 seconds) ran a time of 16:45 giving him a per mile pace of 5:24.  So, what's so special about that?  The guy was 48 years old!  That means in 2015 he'll be 50 and in the same age group as me until I turn 60 in 2017.  Grrrr!  Smile

            Fat old man PRs:

            • 1-mile (point to point, gravity assist): 5:50
            • 2-mile: 13:49
            • 5K (gravity assist last mile): 21:31
            • 5-Mile: 37:24
            • 10K (first 10K of my Half Marathon): 48:16
            • 10-Mile (first 10 miles of my Half Marathon): 1:17:40
            • Half Marathon: 1:42:13


            CT JEFF

               

              As a side note, the guy who finished second overall (by 20 seconds) ran a time of 16:45 giving him a per mile pace of 5:24.  So, what's so special about that?  The guy was 48 years old!  That means in 2015 he'll be 50 and in the same age group as me until I turn 60 in 2017.  Grrrr!  Smile

               

              Its still 18 months off, but Im already dreaming of the 40m category. But also keeping an eye out for those around my age and those already in the category. Other than a little BQ time, I dont think I'll gain much out of the new category.

              RUN SAFE.     Barefoot 1st: 6/9/13. PR: 5k=22:50 10k=47:46 HM 1:51. FM 4:28 Oct 2015 joined RUN 169!

               

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