Fall racing season begins

[SumoRunner]

Labor Day is the start of prime road running season in these parts. I did a lot of track and field in spring and summer and then laid back a bit the last few weeks of August. Laid back in intensity that is, I actually boosted the total miles. And now I'm beginning what I consider prime time for distance running.

The first race was a 5K this morning. I did very well, 27:45, a few seconds slower than my last 5K but still the second best I've done since 1992. I was somewhat disappointed in the pacing with mile splits of 8:50, 8:40 and 9:22. That third mile was rough, not rough as in a tough course, just rough on my legs and lungs, but I have many more races coming in the new three months.

 

[tprice54]

Good job, Jack! The pacing will come...we're you trying to keep up with the young guns??

 

[Guest]

Good run Jack. I have not been running at all this summer, too busy, too many things to do with my husband deploying, too much heat. We had over 69 days of 100 plus temps with morning temps in the 80s. I'll start back later this month when I'll have all kinds of free time and will need to keep busy.

Keep posting those running results, especially when you all do the Wineglass.

 

[kodi]

Good job Jack. Not too shabby for the first 5K of the year.

 

[SumoRunner]

... trying to keep up with the young guns??

Young guns, HAH! This being one of the more popular local races, I was barely in the top 10 of the 60-64 age group. Check out these "young guns".
1 Patrick Glover 63 Clifton Park NY 19:49
2 Ernie Paquin 63 Gansevoort NY 19:58
3 Bob Ellison 61 Slingerlands NY 20:58

 

[SumoRunner]

Ran another 5K tonight, in the rain. Actually a steady rain felt good, kept you cool throughout. It was a small community fun run with roughly 100 runners, no bib numbers, no tropies, no age groups, just come on down and run with the neighbors. Picnic with hot dogs, chips, popcorn and ice cream to follow. I wouldn't have bothered with it since I just ran one Monday, that's a bit close to race again, but my grandson was going to do the kid's run, so I simply had to be there.

I ran pretty well, 27:38, 7 seconds faster than Monday and 9 seconds slower than last month. That's about as close as you can get them with different course profiles. I didn't wear a watch so don't know my intermediate mile splits, besides the miles weren't even marked so a stop watch would have been superfluous. A good night I guess, except the hip that hurt after Monday's race is hurting again. I thought it was OK but I had another think coming. I hope it's better by next week, I've got a 5.6 miler on Sep 20.

 

[R&N Brown]

Hello Jack,
Glad to hear your schedule is still full.
I'm getting ready for my third 5K and I'm hoping to break 30 minutes. My 12 year old son (pictured in my profile picture) joined the cross country team at his middle school this fall, he's been running a 5k every night for the past week. He sounds to be having fun.

We are going out for a run in the morning and I'm just hoping to keep him in sight!

Keep posting your experiences and results, you set a great example.

Rob

 

[SumoRunner]

I'm getting ready for my third 5K and I'm hoping to break 30 minutes.

Keep working at it. Just this past May and June I was running 31 minutes. This summer I worked hard at improving leg speed by running on the track a lot. Now I'm in the 27s consistently.

 

[SumoRunner]

Sunday, Sep 20. It was a good day for a race in Albany, NY, maybe 50*F at the start, sunny and no wind. The kind of day you can run hard and never get overheated. I ran OK, 53:30 for 5.64 miles, that's 9:30 per mile. The best I've done in this one since 1999. It was a two loop course and I did great on the first circuit, 26:05, but slowed down a lot on the second trip around, 27:25. That's OK though since I've been doing short races since May. I lost most of the time on one big hill. Guess I need to work on hills.

 

[tommy]

Sounds like breaking 30 minutes for 5k to me. Good job!

 

[SumoRunner]

Bottom line: Another senior's 5K personal best, 27:25 (8:50/mi. avg).

Top Line: I'm quite pleased with myself today.

This was a really small race, OK let's call a spade a spade, it was a rinky dink 5K at a college homecomming. Fewer than 20 people ran it. There were as many course volunteers as runners. But a race is a race and if I'm planning to run hard it doesn't matter who else is there, I'm going to run hard.

The first mile went down in 9:05, a real disappointment, but it had been almost all uphill. So I dug in and told myself, no way you're letting this get to you. I picked it up and ran the second mile in 8:42. Since it was an out and back course, if the first mile was all up then the third mile had to be the opposite so even though I was beginning to tire I ran the third mile in 8:53. At the end I was actually able to crank it up for the final tenth in 45 seconds which is a 7:30 pace, for an overall average of 8:50 per mile.

It was only 4 seconds faster than the previous best in August but this was a much tougher course. Had it not been so hilly I might have been flirting with 26 minutes. Then again, one takes improvements in whatever measure one can. It's the best 5K I've done since 1994 and I've done over 150 races in that time span.

My next race is going to be a hill climb. 7.1 miles of mountainous back country roads. There is of course an equal amount of downs to ups in this one as well, but somehow that's little help. I need the hill work to build strength for my favorite annual 15K in November which has several major hilly sections.

 

[R&N Brown]

Jack you never cease to amaze me.
A 7.1 mile hill climber and a 15K to trim out the season. Go for it!

Rob

 

[SumoRunner]

The 15K is my biggest race of the year (not necessarily the longest though). I tailor all my training and racing toward that main goal. All of this is leading up to that. I first ran it in 1978 and have done it 25 times in those 31 years.

In 2006 when I was up to 250 lbs, I finished DFL in 2:04:47 (13:25/mi). In 2007 I dropped some wt and got down to 1:52:10 (12:03/mi) and in 2008 1:46:28 (11:26/mi). My condition and recent race times this year tell me I should be able to get close to 90 minutes, below 10:00/mi. There was a time, pre-AVR, when I could run it at 7:15 to 7:30/mi pace, but alas 20 years and 20 extra lbs make that unattainable.

At 61 yrs old, 5'6" and 205, it amazes many that I can do as well as I can not even taking the AVR into account. When they learn of the valve, their reaction is incredulity, but I have learned in the last few years that the valve is not my main limiter.

 

[R&N Brown]

I'm pulling for you Jack, I hope you beat your 10 Min miles.

How do you carry 205 lbs at 5'6" with all the running you do?

This is an area where I have had some success. I'm 5'11", Last December I weighted 245lbs, today I weighed in at 208.8. I have changed my diet somewhat but I still enjoy too many fluffanutters! I would like to be 200 by Christmas, but I won't kill myself to do it.

Continued good luck with your runs, I always enjoy your posts.

Rob

 

[SumoRunner]

How do you carry 205 lbs at 5'6" with all the running you do?

I have a little more than average upper body bulk. Problem is you can't really see the muscle through all the flab. There are three main body types, endomorph, ectomorph and mesomorph. I'm built more like applemorph.

I'm also a shot putter during summer T&F season. Last winter when I was unable to run outdoors as much I got up to doing 150-200 push-ups 5 days a week, but I've slacked off recently. I put a pull-up bar in the rafters of my basement so I can at least lift my own weight off the floor, but I do very little free weight lifting even though I have wts and a bench down there too (but no spotter). Mostly I just run and I move very efficiently for a big guy.

 

[R&N Brown]

applemorph. Very Good!

A couple hundred push ups a day is pretty impressive. I remember you writing about that challenge a few months ago. I even went in and looked at the build up training to getting to 100 a day and it was more then I wanted to commit to.

I have 3 circuits that I follow at the gym. A machine weight circuit, A body weight and dumb bell circuit and then an upper body circuit. each takes about 45 minutes and leaves me feeling a little worn. I'd like to say that I have a 3 - 4 day a week discipline but not right now. Still to busy at work. After we get the 400 storage boats put to bed for the winter I will have a little more time.

My biggest challenge right now is sealing a leak that has developed in my roof. I am on my 3rd attempt, not successful yet, #4 will be the charm! I will not fail!

Signed up for the Gasping Gobbler 5K Scheduling will not allow for the Veterans Day run.

Keep working hard and keep posting your successes.

Rob

 

[SumoRunner]

The Good the Bad and the Ugly

The Good the Bad and the Ugly

The Good the Bad and the Ugly. A tale of the October 4, Voorheesville, NY 7.1 mile road race.

The Ugly : We got the ugliest T-shirt of the year at this one. I've gotten some nasty looking designs before but this one has to be among the top two or three ugliest shirts I've ever seen. And after almost 350 races, that's saying a lot. The only thing I can think it might be good for is sneaking in with a road repair crew on the interstate. Yes, of course I ran the race in it. It was simply too ugly not to. Next stop, the car wash rag bag.

The Bad : I'm going to be sore for a week after this one. The course consisted of hills, hills and more hills. The downhills do as much damage as the ups, some say more. My legs were like rubber by the end and I'm sure they'll feel even worse tomorrow.

The Good : A trophy pie! I ran a good 5 minutes faster than my previous best on this course and got 3rd place in the 60-69 age group. I've got a wall full of medals, ribbons, plaques and certificates, but you can't go wrong with apple pie as a reward for a hard run. After a year or two the medals end up in a cardboard box in the garage. This goes directly into the blood stream. It totally makes up for the ugly shirt and even the sore legs.

 

[halleyg]

350 races, wow, that's a lot of shirts! And I believe that this one must be hands-down the ugliest of all! Wow, really, really bad...
Trophy pie, can't beat that! Congrats on yet another race behind you..

 

[tprice54]

Congrats Jack! But we missed you at the Wineglass today!

 

[SumoRunner]

I'm sure I missed out on a lot not being at Wineglass. As I've stated before, a lot of the great times I'm running now can be attributed to the hard training I put in preparing for the marathon relay.

350 races, wow, that's a lot of shirts! And I believe that this one must be hands-down the ugliest of all! Wow, really, really bad...

I run a lot of races that don't do T-shirts. Track, cross country, etc. Of the 26 races I've done this year, only 9 have been T-shirt races. This wasn't the worst one, merely the worst one of 2009. Perhaps you missed last year's ugliest T-shirt ever.