Let's Go Racin'!

This week’s workouts:

Mon:  Walk 1.3 miles; Run 4.01 miles (9:56 pace)

Tue:   Walk 1.7 miles; Ride 16 miles (trainer drills)

Wed:  Run 4.06 miles (9:56 pace)

Wed:  Walk 1.8 miles

Thu:   Walk 2.3 miles

Sat:    Run 6.18 miles (9:17 pace) (3 mile warm up + 5K race)

Sun:   Run 3.75 miles (8:11 pace) (6K race); Ride 8.11 miles (mechanical problems)

Nothing significant to report on the workout front other than a small ramp-up in run mileage due to an upcoming half marathon, and I haven’t been swimming because I’m comfortable with where my base is right now.  I’ll cover my bike miles later.  I have continued to walk a few miles over my lunch hour whenever possible as a form of light cross training and to keep everything loose.

I have been enjoying my last few weeks of the “offseason” with some racing!  This past weekend I raced a 5K and 6K, and I’m racing a half marathon next Saturday.  There is a definite distinction between running a race (feels good), and racing a race (feels like death).  Let’s be clear – I’m not going to be winning any of these races – it’s all about pushing yourself and battling against your own times.

The first race was the Undy 5000 at Forest Park on Saturday which is put on by the Colon Cancer Alliance.  We ran as a member of Nancy Jean’s Running Machines which is a team put together by a fellow Honey Badger in memory of her mom.  We met early to get 3 miles in before the race.  We ran some of the interior trails of the park that we typically don’t run – something we need to do more often, despite the fact that we crossed paths with a young male holding a baseball bat (wonder how many cars were broken into at the Visitor’s Center lot that morning). 

Nancy Jean's Running Machines

Honey Badgers in their special undies

After the warm-up, everyone put their undies on and got ready for the 5K.  Most sane people just added undies over their running gear.  I have to give these guys (right) some credit – they went for it on a really cold morning.  The race was crowded as most charity races are, but I eventually found a happy pace on the hills of Forest Park, recording splits of 8:49, 8:15, and 8:30.  The first mile included a lot of weaving in and out due to traffic, and the last mile included a few hills which I have dreaded ever since running the Frostbite series a few years ago.  My official time was 26:39 for an average of 8:47/mile – 98^th out of 1,395 finishers, 17 of 79 in M40-49 (obviously some disconnect with my Garmin because I didn’t reset after the warm-up miles).

On Sunday, we participated in the Taste of Achievement 6K and 1-mile fun run at Creve Coeur Park put on by the St. Louis Dietetic Association.  One of the Honey Badgers is a member of the Association, so a number of us registered to support her in the first year for this race.  We brought the kids along to run the 1-mile run, and we baited them into running fast when we saw that of the 10 or so people running the 1-miler, they had a good chance to place highly (their competition included toddlers and people who obviously planned on walking, outside of one serious runner who finished with a sub-six mile).  Emily and Adam ended up finishing 2^nd and 3^rd, well behind the winner’s time of 5:XX.

After the kids started, we began the 6K on the interior loop of Creve Coeur Lake.  I didn’t run any warm up before this race, so it was all about starting cold, hoping to warm up, and hanging on.  I saw that the field for this race was pretty small, so I thought I would push it since this may be my only chance for a top-3 age group finish.  My mile splits were 8:08, 8:10, 8:12, and 8:17.  I obviously faded a bit in this race, but it felt good to push a bit on a flat track.  I ended up 11^th out of 92, and 2^nd out of 5 in the male 40-49 age group.  I shall bask in the glory of my 2^nd place AG finish, and forget that there were only 5 of us. 

After Emily cleaned up at the raffle, I rushed home to get everything together to meet up with a group for a bike ride at the MCT trails in Collinsville, IL.  It was a beautiful day for a ride, but almost immediately I could tell something was off with my front derailleur and it looked like the chain ring was wobbling as I pedaled.  At the 4 mile mark I stopped to check, and the entire bottom bracket could slide in and out about 1/4^th inch.  Considering that there should be zero movement here, I turned around and headed to Big Shark (where I bought the bike).  Despite it being a beautiful Sunday, a mechanic got me right in for some quick correction and gear adjustments, and I was on my way home.  Hopefully I can get out and ride this week to see if everything is back to normal.  I seriously cannot say enough about the great service I receive at Big Shark!

Up on the stand within 2 minutes of walking in the door

Hey look - no gap!

This abbreviated ride was my first one using all of the data points available on my Garmin 901xt, which includes speed, distance, heart rate, and cadence.  You can see from the data that I was preoccupied with trying to diagnose my problem so it’s all over the place, but I am excited to see what I can glean from this data over the summer.

This, the last week of my offseason, will be filled with getting some family health issues in order, trying to keep up to date at work, and the Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon on Saturday.  I should have some good GoPro footage for you next week.