Liftoff

Today was the last half-marathon in a series that began in late October. I went into the race a bit flat today, and not as focused as usual, but I was motivated to run hard in order to maintain my place in the series standings.

I've been guilty of some long race reports, so I'm going to keep this one under control. Also, it would be easy to make this into a complainfest.

I'm actually very satisfied with my time, despite running 1:30 faster three months ago. Although the temperature was not bad (low-70s), the dewpoint was also pegged at 70 degrees, which is not fun for racing.

As expected, the race went out fast, and I ran my first 3 miles faster than I ever have in a half in order to stay within reach of my guys. Hard to say if this was a mistake or not. After the first miles, I slowed, almost metronomically, for the next 4 miles or so, until I cratered in the low 5:50s.

Luckily for me, a similar scenario was playing out for everyone else as well. This race has long straightaways and it's easy to see where your competition is, so I knew I was about a minute behind the guy most likely to pass me in the standings.

In the last 5k I was able to gather myself for the final push. I finished plenty back, but held my spot in the standings by 13 seconds. Perhaps a hollow victory, since I finished well behind 3rd and 4th in the series, but I'll take it.

If this sounds  a bit negative, I wish it didn't- I was very happy with my time and focus. It was simply the experience of running this race that was deeply unpleasant. Probably in a couple days I'll be talking up how awesome it was.

Splits:

1. 5:29
2. 5:35
3. 5:34
4. 5:39
5. 5:44
6. 5:49
7. 5:53
8. 5:48
9. 5:50
10. 5:56
11. 5:44
12. 5:46
13. 5:38

.1 ~5:25 pace

AM: 8 miles.

All haggling about supplements aside, if Salazar really wants to understand why Americans are losing to Kenyan runners, he should revist that classic American sports documentary, Rocky 4. Except we're Drago.

Based on his Twitter feed, Ryan Hall seems to be in the loop, although the fatal misstep in his LA buildup was taking his cues from Rocky 5.

Really, when you trim the schlock back from those six movies, what's left is the searing masterstroke How Awesome is Mr T?

AM: 6 miles.

PM: 10 miles at track. I was able to run pretty hard tonight, which is not the norm two days after a half marathon, obviously. The race was draining, but didn't beat my legs up too badly.

The workout for tonight: 4 X 800 WITH 200 REST, 2 SETS WITH 400 REST BETWEEN SETS

Mike and I decided to start at 2:40 and work into the sets. It was a drag in the heat but we worked through it and walked away pretty happy.

First set: 2:40, 2:37, 2:36, 2:30
Second set: 2:36, 2:34, 2:32, 2:30

AM: 6 miles.

PM: 5 miles at lunch with Quint.

I was tired this afternoon at work, when my client requested a new application/report, to tell them what was about to happen with the massive processing application we've spent months developing runs on their files.

I was trying to explain that reporting on that ahead of the application running was tantamount to executing the same functionality on the same data set.

I failed.

Day off.

I'm feeling hopeful I can lower my 5k PR in a couple weeks at a local track invite, but I need a tuneup to make that happen. I'm going to jump into a local 5k tomorrow night to get into gear. It's non-certified, and widely described as noticeably short, so time is irrelevant. I do want to run as close to 5:00/mile as possible to see how I hold up.

AM: 3 miles, couple strides.

PM: 9 miles.

Fun local race last night. It rained lightly until about 15 minutes before race start. This plus the cloudy skies made for better conditions than we've had in weeks.

After months of battling injury, a teammate and great runner - Sean Gallagher - made it out last night. He is not near peak fitness, but he still took the race out fast with a couple high school kids and other ambitious types trailing in a phalanx behind. He's one of those guys who will go out hard no matter what, and it's pretty awesome.

I wasn't sure what to expect from most of those runners, but one guy I knew was serious was Mike, who was hanging a bit back with me. After about a third of a mile we moved up to the front and starting setting the pace. One of the kids came with us, and lasted until about mile 1.25.

This event is a precursor to an IndyCar race held annually in downtown St. Petersburg. The 5k winds through the narrow canyons of walls built up to contain the cars. I ran steady and tried to slowly lower the pace. Mike remained with me until shortly after the 2 mile mark, when I was able to open a small gap. With him close behind, I was motivated to keep moving - knowing that if we were close at all near the finish line he would crush me.

Sadly, reports of the short course proved true. It measured between 3.04-3.06 from the informal survey I took. We estimated it took 20-30 seconds off an actual 5k time.

I was very happy with this race. I wanted a test run before the track race in two weeks, and I was hoping I had some 5k fitness. Everything came off well, and I think I have a shot at running 15:4x on the track.

One impressive constrast that really stood out was how far Mike has come in a year. We raced a 5k for the first time almost a year ago. In that span he has gone from a guy in the upper 17s to hovering close to the 16 minute barrier. At this time next year, I'll be chasing him.

Splits:

1. 5:09
2. 5:06
3. 5:02

AM: 7 miles with the family pushing the jogging stroller.