Race Judicata 5k/10k Double

I ran this race last year and really liked it. The course was challenging, post-race food was good and a lot of the usual Nashville racing crowd is out there. With having six weeks of near non-existent running, having a week of less than 40 miles and then missing seven days with the flu, I expected to not be the slightest bit fit. A week prior, I was insanely sore for several days off of easy jogging. I didn't really know what to expect but knew this was the less fit I have ever been on the day of a race.

Originally, I planned on doing the 10k only. But since both races usually gave $100 which buys a lot of diapers on Amazon (for my daughter, not me), I debated trying them both. In true chickenhawk fashion, I texted the two fastest Ryan's I know to see if they were showing up. Both of them had other plans, so I decided to give it a go. In high school, racing two events in a day can be considered a light day. For a lot of meets, I would race four events (some combination of the 4x800m, 1600, 800, 3200m, 4x400) but in college, a lot of people think they are prima donnas, and hold their nose up at the idea of racing twice in a day and just the idea of racing too much in general. I decided to get in touch with my teenage self and race twice.

The day before, I found out that one of my favorite running partners, Ted Towse, was showing up. He's had some downtime with some bum hip issues but is always a gamer at 5ks. I was hoping my gas tank and some ninja tactics would help pull me through. We warmed up together, took a wrong turn and I got to the car with just five minutes to put on my number, change into my clothes and put the chip on my shoe. I didn't have time to do my usual drills and strides but you can't always be a diva.

When I got to the line, I saw Jeff Edmonds was also racing. He's done a few recent track meets and ran a solid 5k two weeks prior, so I knew he was fit and would be able to handle a solid pace. The first mile starts with a small climb before having some gradual drops and it felt like we got out quick. I was just trying to tuck in with Jeff and Ted and it felt like we were going around 5:00 pace or a little bit under. When I'm racing one or two guys and fighting for the lead, I like to get a little bit of a gap a mile in. It's hard to lead and win but by getting a three second or so lead, you are a little bit out of touch even though the people are running the same pace as you. They feel like they are right there, but they are hanging by a thread and sometimes a surge or increase of pace can break that thread.

The mile marker signs were a little off, so I don't know what the first mile split was. But because I was racing people, not the watch, it really didn't matter. There were several smaller climbs in the second mile that weren't too bad. I felt like I was running pretty steady but I didn't want to turnaround to see what my lead was like because when you do that, the people behind you smell blood in the water and you also start worrying about what's going on behind you, rather than focusing on pressing head.

About halfway through the race, there is a long, grinding hill. I really hate those type of hills, especially in a short race like the 5k, where the pace is fast and forced, without much relaxing going on. I tried to stay focused on the hill and use my "hill running" muscles but I was really struggling and fading fast. With Ted's hip issues, I wasn't sure how he would handle the hills but I was expecting him to catch me because I was crawling up the last portion of it. Luckily, I held him off and was glad the rest of the course was flat/downhill. I was able to maintain a steady pace and get the win over him by six seconds, with Jeff in third. I felt much looser the second half of the race than the first, and crossed the line feeling pretty strong and relaxed. With less than 45 minutes until the 10k, I immediately started a mile or so cool-down to get my legs ready for the next race.

I was still feeling pretty fresh before the 10k and really didn't want to race too hard. I saw that Brian Shelton, who won the Memphis Marathon and is the owner of the Foothills Running Co., was on the line, so I knew I'd have to push a good bit. We got out sort of fast, so I tucked in because of the wind. After a couple of minutes the pace really relaxed, and we chit-chatted for a few minutes until it was time for the big hill. I gaped him a bit at the start of the hill and I felt ok running up it, except my lower back really hurt, which has been happening more frequently lately. I didn't want to look back, but I felt like I had a few second lead and did my best to keep it over the next few miles.

Aerobically, I was in complete control, but my legs were becoming more worn out over time. Taking several weeks off, and only have a couple of weeks of easy jogging didn't prepare me for the hard running over the hills, but I did my best to stay focused and keep the finish line on my mind.

The hill by the golf course, right at five miles, stole my soul last year, so I wasn't looking forward to running up it again. For the first 30 seconds, it wasn't too bad but as it dragged on, I could tell I was tanking fast and was probably running over 8:00 pace. I fully expected Brian to catch me on the hill, but I still did my best to push up it because I knew it had to be hurting him as well. Once I got to the top, I knew I only had a few minutes left of running and after a quick glance around one of the sharp turns, I felt like I had a big enough lead. Just to play it safe, I put in a hard surge for a 1/4 mile or so and was able to cruise it in to take another six second victory.

A short cool-down with Jeff Bandy and Travis Crouch put me at 15.6 miles for the day, which is my biggest day in about two months. I wasn't crazy about running 16:25 and 34:05, considering I ran 32:31 for the 10k here last year, but it was much windier this year and I was much closer to my peak fitness last year. Even though I'm not happy with my current level of fitness, I was happy to see three of the guys I coach race really well.

After the race, I was sad to see there wasn't any Bruegger's Bagels this year, but at least I was able to take more than my fair share of candy bars and smoothies. I also racked up a couple of gavels, which I like more than your typical medal or trophy that has a guy runner on it, with long flowing hair, which really doesn't help my self-esteem. In the past, each race has given $100, so I was a little disappointed when one of the envelopes just had $50, but that's not the reason why I run and am happy with whatever I can get.

The next morning, I felt like I was run over by a truck. My calves had killer knots in them, my back really hurt and my glutes were really sore. If I feel this bad after running a couple of steady efforts, I can imagine how ugly the Tom King Half Marathon is going to be. Originally, I was hoping to run a personal best and set the state record there but after missing so much time and not being fit enough to get in anything much faster than a jog for at least a few more weeks, I'll be happy if I can run under 1:10 (assuming the weather is ok).

I hope 2012 has a lot in store for me, but so far, it's off to a patient and slow start.

Zoo Run Run

I ran this race last year and enjoyed it, so I signed up for it again. Unfortunately, my knee has gone from bad to worse. It was getting to the point where I could run on it some and even got in 54 miles one week. But in one day, it went from improving, to the worse it has ever been. Both my patellar and quadriceps tendon have become pretty swollen, which isn't fun when you add in the mistracking issue. Since Tuesday, I was only able to run two miles but since I'm a cheapo and already paid $40 to race, I decided to give it a go. Besides, I've done much more stupid things than this, for far less money.

I gave myself about a 50/50 chance of starting the race and pulled out all of the stops for my knee. I took four Aleve about 1.5 before the race, watched some YouTube videos and did a botched up version of a tape job using some KT tape, put on my patellar tendon strap and for the figurative "icing on the cake", rubbed on the always minty fresh sports creme. I felt more like a yuppy runner than a blue collar one, so I decided to don some longer shorts to make me look not so ridiculous.

Normally before a race, I like to warm-up very well, especially for a 5k. Ideally, I'd run a 20 minute or so slight progression, along with a lot of fast strides to get my engine running and my legs ready to go. Too many people expect to just jog around for a few minutes and be ready to race. You can't go straight from first/second gear into fifth, so on the warm-up, you need to cover all your bases. However because of my gimpiness, I decided to just jog for a few minutes at a very slow pace. The knee didn't feel too badly and I even got in a few short, half-hearted strides. I then decided I was good to go (well, as good as I could be.)

Jacob Carrigan was there and it looked like he would be my toughest competition. He's been running pretty fast over the last few months and he put a whooping on me in a 5k a couple of years ago, so I was a little worried. I planned to put on my best poker face and bluff my way through the race, hoping he wouldn't try to battle me to the end. Unfortunately, I am usually a terrible poker player.

When the gun went off, a few kids from the homeschooler cross country team took off. Like their education, I decided to let them have a false sense of accomplishment before taking over. After about half of a mile, I was able to stay in the front until the end and ended up running a semi-controlled 16:18. I had to throw in some surges from time-to-time to stay ahead of Jacob but luckily the course had so many turns, it was easy to "hide" and appear a little farther ahead than you actually were. The knee actually wasn't too bad for the first mile or so but the last few minutes, it was on fire and the insane number of turns didn't help its cause.

I was glad I was able to finish and will rest my knee a good bit next week. Overall, I really enjoy this race. The course is very hard to run fast on but if you want to find a fast course, you have several options in the area every month. Running in the zoo is something that is unique and different, which is why I think they draw so many runners. And not to mention, they serve a pasta meal after the race and Blackstone is there serving some refreshment as well.

When I made out my original racing schedule, I had the Cedars of Lebanon Half Marathon as my next race, but I'll have to skip out on that. After that, I was going to try the Race Judicata 5k/10k double, which is probably also out of the books as well. Hopefully I can take a shot at running just the 10k there and be in semi-crappy shape at the Tom King Half Marathon in March.

Mississippi Blues

Well, the curse has struck again. After the Rocket City debacle, I took it easy for a few of days and then went back to hard training. Even though I was still pretty congested a little over a week later, my workouts were on fire. Since I peaked for Rocket City and had some pretty fresh legs, I decided to try my which was 6 miles at 85% of marathon pace, a 1-2 minute break and then 6 miles at 100% of marathon pace. That really isn't that hard by itself, but when you repeat the same workout in the afternoon and don't eat any carbohydrates from the time you wake up until the time you finish the second workout, it can get pretty tough.

I ran this same workout three weeks before the Country Music Marathon and ran 39:30/34:04 and 39:26, 33:32. Those splits were actually 10k (which adds just over a minute) and one week post Rocket City, I was able to run 36:05/31:45 and 35:36/31:49. Other than feeling insanely hungry, I felt really strong. I woke up feeling like a million bucks the next day but a couple of days later, the inside of my knee was really hurting. This same thing happened to me a few weeks prior and was gone in a couple of days, so I was hoping it would be a repeat performance.

As time went on, the knee became worse. I wasn't sure if I would be able to run anything hard but headed to the HHS track to give it a go. My plan was to run 6x1600m at around 110% of marathon race pace, which put me at 4:46-4:47, with a 400m jog rest in-between. With the bum knee, a belly full of Demos' steak, soup, bread and spaghetti, and the fact my legs haven't done anything near that fast in a long while, I would have be fine with starting out just under 5:00 and working my way down to 4:50. I ended up feeling rusty on my first one in 4:47. but somehow managed 4:44, 4:43 and 4:42 for my next three. When I would run this workout in college, I would begin to die terribly after four but surprisingly, I was barely tired at all. I decided to drop down the pace a little more and ran my next two in 4:38 and 4:39. I briefly debated two more at sub 4:40 but with the bum knee and the fact that it was approaching 10:30pm, I decided to call it a workout. I was pumped because the pace felt so controlled, despite not running anything near that fast for a long time. With those two workouts in the bank, I was confident that I was in at least 2:17:-2:18 marathon shape. Granted being in shape and going out and performing, especially in the marathon, are two different things.

But as time went on, the knee just became worse. At first I couldn't get in any fast running but then it got to the point where I couldn't run at all. I decided to wave the white flag and keep things low key and then start a new build-up again once my knee is fine. It's frustrating because I never got to race all-out when I was in good shape but at least I didn't beat my body up with a marathon. The Country Music Marathon put a complete thrashing on my body and I didn't feel right until months afterward. When I start my next cycle, I should be able to start on fresher legs. And with the fitness gains I made over the past year, I'll be strong enough to try some new things in training that will hopefully give me some big breakthroughs. 2011 turned into the year of "what-ifs" but I think 2012 has a lot of good things in store.