Good run John and barefoot to boot. Nice.

 

Yesterday was the Indianapolis Marahon. A nice little marathon on the east side of town. The fall colors were perfect and we ran through a state park. Simply gorgeous. Now for the gory details. I finished in 3:47:36. Not racing but just wanted to run. AHR was 141 and MHR was 162 on the last two tenths (I was trying to help someone get their PR and we pushed a little). Other than that no excitement. Last year I ran his one in 3:45x and gassed a couple of times. Today was just a nice run with no gassing or anything else.

 

If you want a nice mid sized marathon that is low cost and well supported with great fall colors, this is the one.

 

A 26.2 mile long run in 3:47 at 141 AHR is showing some aerobic fitness.  Congrats on all the progress you've made, Norm. Recover well.

--Jimmy

5k PR

 

Total:  21:48  (7:02 pace)

 I just wanted to add to this report.

It was a beautiiful autumn morning that I woke up to, and the  race was at 9am.  I quickly got up and had some coffee and toast at 7am.  I do not do well without food in the morning.  It was 50 degrees out when I got up and by the time the race started at 9am, it was a perfect sunny crisp 60 degree New England morning.

While warming up for about a half hour before the race, running a nice easy pace, I felt like crap.  I had no bounce in my step at all.  I had taken the last two days off, and in the past, if I do not run the day before a race, this is usually how I feel.  So, my usual routine was to do an easy run the day before a race instead of a complete rest day.  But, this time I decided to have a complete rest day because I have been a little tired lately and I thought the rest would do me better.

So, while I am warming up, I was a bit discouraged, and all I could think about is that I have been training so consistantly for the past 5 months, I increased miles, I paid attention to my MAF tests, and I did just about everything I was supposed to do.  And, yet, I was expecting a mediocre race.  My MAF tests had been going a bit south.  But, the only thing I could hang any hope on was the fact that one of my tempo runs was faster than usual for the HR, even with MAF tests regressing, perhaps I was ok at the higher HRs.

So, the gun goes off to start the race and immediately you find yourself kicking it into that higher gear that you do not think you even have until the addrenoline starts to flow.   Once I was in that higher gear, I felt the bounce.  I felt the energy.  So, I was very encouraged and I pushed the first mile.  I knew that the first mile and a half was flat followed by a half mile down hill.  So, I decided to really go all out knowing I could coast down that hill to rest and then prepare for the half mile up hill that starts the third mile.

So, when I got to the first mile marker, they called out 6:43.  That was the fastest first mile I had ever done, so I was really encouraged at that point.  During the first mile I was settling into my old paces, but every once in a while I surged and it felt easy to do with my new Brooks T6 Racers.  The racing shoes make a huge difference in my leg turnover.  I am convinced that if I was running in my trainers, there is no way I was having that kind of first mile.

By the time I got to the down hill portion at the 1.5 mile mark, I really pulled back and tried to just let the hill take me down it, and I did not push because I needed to have something for the uphill in the last mile.  Even so, when I got to the to 2 mile mark, I saw that I ran a 6:50.

Now I am thinking PR.  Just hang on now.  So, the third mile uphill comes, and for the first time in the race, I start getting passed by people.  I knew I did not have much left and it would be hard.  But, everytime someone passed me, I tried to hang with them and that helped pull me along.

It was a thrill to know that I was going to do a good time as I approached the finish, and I knew it was going to be a PR with about 2 minutes to go.  So, I just kept the legs churning.  My previous two years, I was defeated by that last mile.

I found some pictures from the race I was just in.

The first link is at the one mile mark and I am number 491.  

http://jimrhoades.com/09/bills5k/image28.html

This second link is near the end of the race after a long tough up hill climb.  The runner next to me had the awareness to smile for the photographer.  I had no idea there was a photograper there.

http://jimrhoades.com/09/bills5k/image151.html

The two photos below are nice foliage scenes near where the race took place.

http://jimrhoades.com/09/bills5k/image4.html

http://jimrhoades.com/09/bills5k/image5.html

If you hit the NEXT or PREV button on any of these photos, it lets you cycle through them all.

I found some pictures from the race I was just in.

 

The first link is at the one mile mark and I am number 491.  

http://jimrhoades.com/09/bills5k/image28.html

 

This second link is near the end of the race after a long tough up hill climb.  The runner next to me had the awareness to smile for the photographer.  I had no idea there was a photograper there.

http://jimrhoades.com/09/bills5k/image151.html

 

The two photos below are nice foliage scenes near where the race took place.

http://jimrhoades.com/09/bills5k/image4.html

http://jimrhoades.com/09/bills5k/image5.html

 

If you hit the NEXT or PREV button on any of these photos, it lets you cycle through them all.

Thanks for sharing run48, I also ran a 5k this past Sunday up in New Hampshire and the scenery was very similar. Perfect day Fall day for racing. I'm still post marathon recovering so I didn't push to hard or just have dead legs at this point. 

Ps. Jimmy I did it, I signed up for Hyannis, gulp. Haven't decided if I'm gonna try and BQ, figure I'll also run the Derry Boston Prep 16 miler in January as a good tune up to see where I'm at. 

 

Thanks for sharing run48, I also ran a 5k this past Sunday up in New Hampshire and the scenery was very similar. Perfect day Fall day for racing. I'm still post marathon recovering so I didn't push to hard or just have dead legs at this point. 

Ps. Jimmy I did it, I signed up for Hyannis, gulp. Haven't decided if I'm gonna try and BQ, figure I'll also run the Derry Boston Prep 16 miler in January as a good tune up to see where I'm at. 

Ah, Hyannis! I've run the half several times--usually as a training run. I ike that race.

Bash, you have plenty of time to recover, get a few base weeks in, and figure out a pace.

Good luck. Congrats on your courage to retry in Feb.

--Jimmy