Saturday, April 30, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
New Focus
Late last night Tim sent me an email about this event taking place less than a mile from his house! After discussing with Lisa and checking the calendar, it appears that this weekend will work well for a little family vacation so it looks like we are Cleveland bound again and I’ll be entering the 5 and 10k! New goals, new training plans, love it!
Skyline preview
So this Saturday sees the second race in the RFYL Grand Prix series, the Skyline 5k, starting and finishing next to CPCC campus. You may recall that in the first race of the series I placed 3rd in the Shamrock 4 Miler, about 10 hours after I had run my 5k PR at UNCC the night before. I was pretty impressed with myself at the time but my calf wasn’t and it dinged my training for a few days, no doubt a contributory factor in my disappointing Richmond showing 2 weeks later.
Fast forward a few weeks and here we are with the second race. Training since Richmond seems to have gone okay, nothing spectacular, just grinding out the workouts and ticking over, probably no fitter than I was, so not expecting all that much at the weekend, just enjoying the races at the moment, bigger fish to fry later in the year.
So if I can get in the top 3 again at this race I would definitely take it. I rate this as one of the faster Grand Prix 5ks and with it being run in April normally the temps are also pretty good (the current forecast for Saturday is favourable).
Now for most races coming top 3 isn’t that significant, as the prizes generally go 5 deep and aren’t that much to talk about anyway. Skyline is different though as the top 3 only all win a framed print of, you’ve guessed it, the Charlotte Skyline. It’s one of those prizes that the other half likes so there is extra pressure on coming top 3!
I have run this race for 4 of the past 5 years and have only one print to show for my efforts- a third place in my first ever Skyline race back in 2006! Since then Lisa has been on at me to get another one (the one I have was taken on a cloudy day and has lots of cranes in the picture!) but for one reason and another I haven’t been able to notch one!
2007 I ran a great race in 15:57 defeating local luminaries Robert Miller, Ed Schlichter and Chris Lamperski but still managed to place 4th. A certain Tim Budic had just arrived on the scene and took the victory ahead of Wingate stud Jayce Watson and Bob Marchinko (probably his first Grand Prix race defeat in about 5 years!). Side note: this was the race that I met Tim at. At the awards ceremony we got talking, found out we both had young families and arranged to meet up for a run in Mcalpine the next morning. I was excited to meet a potential new training partner and got to the appointed location in plenty of time. Tim was about 10 minutes late and I was just about to head home disappointed when he came sprinting towards me full of apologies and assuring me that he would never be late for a run again (he wasn’t!!)
The following year I placed 4th again! Bob had his revenge on Tim and Chris ran a strong race for third.
In 2009, things were looking good for a top 3 finish. Training had been going well, Tim had moved back to Cleveland, Bob had ‘retired’ from the Grand Prix scene, a print was there for the taking. Unfortunately my calf had better ideas. During a pre race run on the course two days before the event, my calf gave out on me and I was only able to track the race from home as sure enough the race was won in 16:33 and third was 16:45. A missed opportunity indeed….
Finally, last year I ran a solid enough race but all the horses turned up- Kinley, Compton, Matena, Hovis- and I had to settle for 5th place.
This year I know Compton is out of town, Nick Frank who placed ahead of me in the first GP race I assume will be there, Ben will be there and Brian who was behind me at Shamrock but has since run a low 16 5k PR and appears to be in great shape will be there. Plus you always seem to get a ‘surprise’ runner who you haven’t accounted for turning up. I’ll let you know on Saturday whether Lisa was happy with my performance or not…..
Fast forward a few weeks and here we are with the second race. Training since Richmond seems to have gone okay, nothing spectacular, just grinding out the workouts and ticking over, probably no fitter than I was, so not expecting all that much at the weekend, just enjoying the races at the moment, bigger fish to fry later in the year.
So if I can get in the top 3 again at this race I would definitely take it. I rate this as one of the faster Grand Prix 5ks and with it being run in April normally the temps are also pretty good (the current forecast for Saturday is favourable).
Now for most races coming top 3 isn’t that significant, as the prizes generally go 5 deep and aren’t that much to talk about anyway. Skyline is different though as the top 3 only all win a framed print of, you’ve guessed it, the Charlotte Skyline. It’s one of those prizes that the other half likes so there is extra pressure on coming top 3!
I have run this race for 4 of the past 5 years and have only one print to show for my efforts- a third place in my first ever Skyline race back in 2006! Since then Lisa has been on at me to get another one (the one I have was taken on a cloudy day and has lots of cranes in the picture!) but for one reason and another I haven’t been able to notch one!
2007 I ran a great race in 15:57 defeating local luminaries Robert Miller, Ed Schlichter and Chris Lamperski but still managed to place 4th. A certain Tim Budic had just arrived on the scene and took the victory ahead of Wingate stud Jayce Watson and Bob Marchinko (probably his first Grand Prix race defeat in about 5 years!). Side note: this was the race that I met Tim at. At the awards ceremony we got talking, found out we both had young families and arranged to meet up for a run in Mcalpine the next morning. I was excited to meet a potential new training partner and got to the appointed location in plenty of time. Tim was about 10 minutes late and I was just about to head home disappointed when he came sprinting towards me full of apologies and assuring me that he would never be late for a run again (he wasn’t!!)
The following year I placed 4th again! Bob had his revenge on Tim and Chris ran a strong race for third.
In 2009, things were looking good for a top 3 finish. Training had been going well, Tim had moved back to Cleveland, Bob had ‘retired’ from the Grand Prix scene, a print was there for the taking. Unfortunately my calf had better ideas. During a pre race run on the course two days before the event, my calf gave out on me and I was only able to track the race from home as sure enough the race was won in 16:33 and third was 16:45. A missed opportunity indeed….
Finally, last year I ran a solid enough race but all the horses turned up- Kinley, Compton, Matena, Hovis- and I had to settle for 5th place.
This year I know Compton is out of town, Nick Frank who placed ahead of me in the first GP race I assume will be there, Ben will be there and Brian who was behind me at Shamrock but has since run a low 16 5k PR and appears to be in great shape will be there. Plus you always seem to get a ‘surprise’ runner who you haven’t accounted for turning up. I’ll let you know on Saturday whether Lisa was happy with my performance or not…..
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Week in review
57 miles on 8 runs- 1 long, 1 workout, 1 race
This week will probably be very similar to what I'll do the next few- 55-60 miles on 6 days of running with a race most weekends. Not forcing the mileage at this point.
This week will probably be very similar to what I'll do the next few- 55-60 miles on 6 days of running with a race most weekends. Not forcing the mileage at this point.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Museum Mile
The backdrop
Today I ran in the Museum Mile, a reintroduced version of a point to point mile race down the main street of downtown Charlotte. It was a fun, novel event and I wanted to lay down a good time so I had definitely eased back a bit on the training the past few days so that I could maximise my chances of racing well today. I did a solid workout on Tuesday but other than that the week had been easy running and strides. I was hoping to run somewhere in the 4:30-4:40 range.
The outcome
4:42. 7th place overall, 1st in Age (keeping my unbeaten age group run intact). I was pretty pleased with that. The course actually started uphill (quite ironic when Tryon Street is probably one of the flattest roads in Charlotte!)in order that the race could finish right outside one of the museums. The race director said after the event that for next year's race they will eliminate that hill from the course by moving the finish line back a little- why that wasn't done this year I'll never know.
Anyway that hill made for a nasty little uphill sprint at the start as everyone jockeyed for position. So after 200 meters I was already pretty tapped and panting heavily! The lead group of 6 had separated itself and I led the chasers. I can't really remember much more about the race after that! I suffered throughout but held my position and it was over so fast that it didn't really matter! CRC had set up a cheering section halfway along the course which was highly appreciated and I also had fun hanging out with friends for the awards after the race. The girls had come to watch so it was nice having them there too.
I hope the race was successful for the organizers. It is a welcome addition to the Charlotte racing scene and will hopefully establish itself over the next few years and attract fast fields. It was won today in 4:23 which is a pretty legit time!
So all in all a decent enough race for me and looking forward to returning to my comfort zone next week at the Skyline 5k, one of the faster 5ks on the Grand Prix calendar. At least after the race today next week's first mile should feel pretty comfortable!!
results
Side note 1
I wore new flats for today's race and new shoes for the warm up and down and love them both!! Saucony Grid Type A4 flats (all 6.4 oz of them) and the new NB 890. In fact my first impressions of the 890 is that it could turn out to be the best shoe I've ever worn!
Side note 2
Congrats to buddy Kevin on his first ever race win at the Bunny 5k in Concord today in a new PR to boot. Great job!!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Marathon musings
Well what an incredible weekend of marathon racing! First of all I was able to watch a typically fast and competitive London Marathon on Sunday and then of course we had Boston on Monday.
Many of my friends competed, some happy with their times, some disappointed, but all united in expressing what an amazing experience the race was. I will definitely do this race one day (and London too hopefully!) but judging from what I have heard and saw in the results on Monday (especially considering the 'once in a lifetime' weather conditions)I wouldn't necessarily go up there to run a fast time. It would have to be more for just being able to enjoy and soak in the experience. The course sounds brutal with all the downhills potentially trashing your legs and then of course the Newton hills just when you don't need them! All the Charlotte runners did awesome but special praise must be reserved for the two fastest 'Charlotteans' on the day, Nathan Stanford and Scott Woodbury who both ran PRs and managed to negative split I believe!
And then of course there were the amazing finishes in both the Elite races! Much has been made about whether Mutai's performance should be considered a World Record but I can't really understand what all the fuss is about. Of course it was not a world record. The course is point to point and has a net downhill that exceeds the requirements. Everyone running the race knew this beforehand or should have known if they were interested.
The favourable tail wind has nothing to do with it. Had there been a headwind the time still would not be considered a world record because of the other two factors. The reason that the point to point exclusion is in place is to avoid records being set where the wind is behind you the whole way and/or where you run a net downhill.
There is no question that Mutai can say he ran the fastest marathon in history and should be applauded for putting on such an amazing performance, but it's not a world record, period.
Now if we want to take a look at these rules and come up with new ones which take into consideration the uniqueness of a challenging course like Boston then that is a different matter! I can understand the point to point rule because of the wind scenario but the net downhill rule needs looking at- the amount of uphill on the course should also be taken into consideration- are they trying to tell us Boston is too easy because it has a net overall downhill?
All points to ponder, but at the end of the day, what a day it was for marathon running!
Many of my friends competed, some happy with their times, some disappointed, but all united in expressing what an amazing experience the race was. I will definitely do this race one day (and London too hopefully!) but judging from what I have heard and saw in the results on Monday (especially considering the 'once in a lifetime' weather conditions)I wouldn't necessarily go up there to run a fast time. It would have to be more for just being able to enjoy and soak in the experience. The course sounds brutal with all the downhills potentially trashing your legs and then of course the Newton hills just when you don't need them! All the Charlotte runners did awesome but special praise must be reserved for the two fastest 'Charlotteans' on the day, Nathan Stanford and Scott Woodbury who both ran PRs and managed to negative split I believe!
And then of course there were the amazing finishes in both the Elite races! Much has been made about whether Mutai's performance should be considered a World Record but I can't really understand what all the fuss is about. Of course it was not a world record. The course is point to point and has a net downhill that exceeds the requirements. Everyone running the race knew this beforehand or should have known if they were interested.
The favourable tail wind has nothing to do with it. Had there been a headwind the time still would not be considered a world record because of the other two factors. The reason that the point to point exclusion is in place is to avoid records being set where the wind is behind you the whole way and/or where you run a net downhill.
There is no question that Mutai can say he ran the fastest marathon in history and should be applauded for putting on such an amazing performance, but it's not a world record, period.
Now if we want to take a look at these rules and come up with new ones which take into consideration the uniqueness of a challenging course like Boston then that is a different matter! I can understand the point to point rule because of the wind scenario but the net downhill rule needs looking at- the amount of uphill on the course should also be taken into consideration- are they trying to tell us Boston is too easy because it has a net overall downhill?
All points to ponder, but at the end of the day, what a day it was for marathon running!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Week in review
55 miles, 1 workout, 1 race win, 1 12 mile steady state, 1 glorious Champions League QF victory, 1 miserable FA Cup SF defeat
So I won the Run for the Money race. Not much to report other than that I did the whole race solo and stayed comfortably out of the well on a pretty tough course with a time of 16:55. In town Jordan was back to winning ways in the Race Fest 10k while girlfriend Meagan took the Ladies race and JC continued his unbeaten run in the Half. Had I run in either of those races I would probably have got myself some welcome cash, as it was the Catawba Lands Conservancy found itself $1,000 the richer for my efforts. What philanthropy
Encouraging was the fact that today I was able to bash out a good hard 12 miler on the back of this race with most of the miles in the low 6s. I'm already noticing the reduced mileage and increased intensity is making my legs feel fresher day to day. We'll just have to see what impact it has on my racing. Next up is the Museum Mile next Saturday which should be a fun, novel race!
Tomorrow I am looking forward to tracking lots of friends at Boston. The weather forecast looks fantastic and people are ready to roll. Should be a productive morning at work....
So I won the Run for the Money race. Not much to report other than that I did the whole race solo and stayed comfortably out of the well on a pretty tough course with a time of 16:55. In town Jordan was back to winning ways in the Race Fest 10k while girlfriend Meagan took the Ladies race and JC continued his unbeaten run in the Half. Had I run in either of those races I would probably have got myself some welcome cash, as it was the Catawba Lands Conservancy found itself $1,000 the richer for my efforts. What philanthropy
Encouraging was the fact that today I was able to bash out a good hard 12 miler on the back of this race with most of the miles in the low 6s. I'm already noticing the reduced mileage and increased intensity is making my legs feel fresher day to day. We'll just have to see what impact it has on my racing. Next up is the Museum Mile next Saturday which should be a fun, novel race!
Tomorrow I am looking forward to tracking lots of friends at Boston. The weather forecast looks fantastic and people are ready to roll. Should be a productive morning at work....
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