Last week's digits:
Upcoming races:
"I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."
-- Dick LeBeau
Looks like some congratulations go out to folks this week - Richard for your AG win, Mike for the awesome (grueling) Boston finish, and Lynwood for the mile PR. Nice job, folks!
I joined a few of my coworkers this past Saturday for a little charity race in Concord for the Autism Society of NC. Only 107 participants total but I finished 3rd overall and 2nd in my age group (5 of the top 7 finishers were 30-34 males, so a tough age group to be in for such a small race!) The winner was a 13 year old kid who was disappointed with his 20:16 finish - talking to him and his parents after, he was saying he normally hits in the low 19 minute range. I think the loose gravel trail and the gradual-but-draining uphill climb from mile 1.5 to mile 2.5 did everyone in.
HOWEVER, this still worked out as a 26 second PR for me, and even more importantly, my IT band wasn't giving me any trouble after a couple weeks of self-imposed rest, so I'm as happy as can be. I'm taking it easy this week to make sure I'm not going to bounce right back into trouble but I'm hoping to do a couple more 5k races in the next 4-6 weeks and chop off another big chunk on my 5K time!
Ross... Nice going on the 3rd place overall finish and 5k PR!
Richard Hefner Past Race Results (Athlinks)
Ross,
5k PR? I thought you ran a low 15 min 5k at your state championships (and then a sub 25 min cross country 8k your frosh year at UVA)?
Cliff/Clive,
any report from your Tar Heel 10 miler other than it was humid & the hills? How long is the Laurel Hill climb btw (and how much is the climb)? Any plans to make another appearance on the Wed nite run in Dilworth (or Tue nite jaunt on the Greenway)?
Rob
Ross, congrats on what I'm guessing is a modern-day PR.
Lynwood, kudos on your PR as well.
My very negative-toned race recap is HERE. (I'll probably edit it to soften the tone as the painful memories fade.) The fabled Laurel Hill Challenge -- "The Race Within A Race!" -- is timed over the 0.85mi between the B-tag sensors at the base and summit of this road, covering: 100ft in 0.34mi, then a 30ft descent over 0.2mi of flat/faint downhill, then a second climb of 80ft in 0.3mi. Steep, but I've had worse.
At present, I'm open to the WED group run ... it just hasn't been easy to work out the schedule to line things up.
My very negative-toned race recap is HERE.
Wow, what a write-up Clive! Could be a Pulitzer Prize in your future!
Ross, 5k PR? I thought you ran a low 15 min 5k at your state championships (and then a sub 25 min cross country 8k your frosh year at UVA)?
Yes, technically, those are my all-time PRs, but I'm not counting those anymore as those races were in another life, pretty much. After college, I had a period of about 5 years with almost no running, followed by a foolhardy 3.5 mi race and a week-long admission to a hospital for severe dehydration and rhabdomyolysis. Recovered from that, I futzed around off-and-on with running but not racing for a couple more years and then ruptured my Achilles in February 2010.
My very first run after surgery and a long summer of walking/elliptical machines was Nov 1, 2010, and I'm considering that my restart date for all of my race times, since I'm significantly slower than I was in college and my stride and body mechanics have altered somewhat since my recovery. I'm not trying to "hide" those PRs or cheat the system but if I were to put them in here on RA I'd never show track any improvement and it's doubtful I'll ever get back to those times, so it's not a good motivation tool for me to do so. :-)
Training to write a Novel? Enjoyed reading, and you should share it with a wider audience.
I am one of those who gets passed on the uphills, and I pass them back on the downhills. Need to work on not letting up so much on the uphills, and I think I am making some progress.
On the road again...
Nice running to a lot of you guys here. No racing in my future yet, but last week I ran 4 times (and 1 of those was just cuz I wanted to - a nice unplanned run) and am feeling so good. Told my wife that I feel like I'm back from wherever I went over the past year. Even my pace has quickened quite a bit on these shorter runs, and it feels good to run faster without trying to run faster.
Keep up the great work, everyone.
I write. I read. I run. One time, I ran a lot on my 50th birthday.
Paul
I was teasing you but I never forget (just ask Richard). You also could have said that was 40 lbs ago although if your near your same wt as in HS/college then the committee will have to take another look at whether that was technically your "other life".
I read thru your manifesto. Sounds like you'll know how to prepare/pack for your next over-nite race...bring food along in case grocery store closes early, taper means a reduction of mileage vs. an increase, and bring your firearm in case loud people use the swimming pool at night. I think the quality of your virtual friends was a critical failing -- if you had picked better (quality) virtual friends, they would have admonished you for eating such a fatty and complex meal less than 12 hours fr gun time (where do you meet these virtual friends, what type of virtual circles do you live your life, you may need an intervention if you can't break this virtual circle?).
Finally, I think it was a case a "reverse Karma" that really impacted your race. As I distilled your manifesto, you said upon exiting the hotel, you were treated to ridiculing by a small group of twenty-somethings regarding your CEP sleeves. And that in your mind you wished that you "..sincerely hope their race experiences were beset by blisters and explosive diarrhea." If you approached things more laid-back, you would have ignored this and kept going. But by not being laid-back and wishing them a negative outcome, this came back on you (and it sounds like you almost suffered the latter outcome).
What are CEP sleeves and what did you look like (the group here always likes to weigh in on these matters)? Do you have a picture with them on (are they close to the Eskimo jacket Richard runs in when the temps go below 50 degrees)?
Cliff/Clive, I read thru your manifesto. Sounds like you'll know how to prepare/pack for your next over-nite race...bring food along in case grocery store closes early, taper means a reduction of mileage vs. an increase, and bring your firearm in case loud people use the swimming pool at night. I think the quality of your virtual friends was a critical failing -- if you had picked better (quality) virtual friends, they would have admonished you for eating such a fatty and complex meal less than 12 hours fr gun time (where do you meet these virtual friends, what type of virtual circles do you live your life, you may need an intervention if you can't break this virtual circle?). Finally, I think it was a case a "reverse Karma" that really impacted your race. As I distilled your manifesto, you said upon exiting the hotel, you were treated to ridiculing by a small group of twenty-somethings regarding your CEP sleeves. And that in your mind you wished that you "..sincerely hope their race experiences were beset by blisters and explosive diarrhea." If you approached things more laid-back, you would have ignored this and kept going. But by not being laid-back and wishing them a negative outcome, this came back on you (and it sounds like you almost suffered the latter outcome). What are CEP sleeves and what did you look like (the group here always likes to weigh in on these matters)? Do you have a picture with them on (are they close to the Eskimo jacket Richard runs in when the temps go below 50 degrees)?
Dear Dr. Blue,
And so forth and so on,
Clive Fenster
Cliff - can't wait to see that picture.
Had a great run this morning. Felt nice and relaxed the entire time. Looked back through my logs and was surprised to see that the number of runs this month will be the most in any one month side last August. Yikes! No wonder the fitness went bye-bye so fast.
At any rate, I'm happy to be running consistently again. Makes it easier to feel the momentum building.
Link to three Brightroom photos:
1. Just before the finish line.
2. About two miles in.
3. Coming out of the uphill tunnel, bringing the mail! (And my best, I have to say.)
All that really matters is whether or not you beat the leg-sleeve nay-sayers?
Clive,
why in the world would they ridicule you for those calf compression sleeves...I thought you were wearing arm sleeves and calf sleeves and perhaps the wild colors. For ridiculing you for that, I would wish that the ridiculers merely stepped on a rock (and then had explosive diarrhea when they hit the ground!)!
I'm surprised that the fashion police did not cite for wearing a singlet that was too long (was this your father's singlet?). Your form looks great at the end (your on your toes) -- but in #3 (early in the race) your coming down on your heels. You also supinate slightly (I thought you wore Kayanos or did and Kayanos are for overpronaters). (Your bib says "Cliff", who is Cliff?