PR! Evansville Half Marathon

I don't particularly condone a ton of Peanut M&M's and Black Pepper Jack Doritos (roughly 1500 calories of junk) as a pre-race evening meal, but it seemed to work out just fine for me. Good grief.

Race

October 11, Sunday
7:00 a.m. CT
Warm up: walk 4 laps around the basketball court, jog ~5 mins outside
Distance: 13.1 miles
Duration: 2:11:05
Pace ave: 10:01
HR ave 176, max 191
Cool down: .5 mile walk back to car
@start: 39, 98%, sunny, NNW@3
@end: 44, 90%, sunny, NNE@5
Shoes: Green Pegasus 25

While I pretty achy the last couple miles, I had enough gas left. When I tried to pick up the pace a couple times in the last mile, however, my right calf started cramping. I really didn't want to hobble in and maybe miss setting a PR, so I backed off and kept the pace steady through the finish. Was pleased to have had only a couple instances of raggedy breathing that passed pretty quickly. Am so stoked to have set a PR! My training has been incredibly erratic, my nutrition has been crap, and I've not felt particularly stellar for over a month now. Chalk it up to being well-rested :-) and to the very SPECTACULAR weather!! Cold is good!

Mile HR Max Avg Min min/mile 
1-2 169 177 162 110 10:02 
3 174 178 173 168  9:34 
4 177 182 176 172  9:47 
5 178 179 176 172 10:00 
6 175 180 177 174  9:55 
7 179 181 178 175  9:55 
8 179 180 178 173  9:58 
9 177 179 177 175 10:10 
10 178 180 176 170 10:14 
11-12 184 185 182 178 10:08 
13.1 189 189 186 182 10:07

I think I missed Mile Marker 1 last year, too.
Mile Marker 11 must have been right at a water
station. There may have been a marker at 13, but
I was too focused on the end and keeping my calf
from cramping to notice.

My race stats--
overall place:    1051 out of 2185
division place:     33 out of 126
gender place:      397 out of 1230
 
5k:       30:32
10k:    1:01:22
15k:    1:32:17

Number of Finishers:    2,185
Number of Females:      1,230
Number of Males:          955
Average Time:         2:21:51

Online Race Results

Morning Stats

weight: post race 144.2
bf: 29%
pulse: n/a
bp: n/a
bg: n/a

Evansville YMCA 10k

Race day! Last night, I didn't want to do the race for some mysterious reason. Nevertheless, I set the alarm for 5 a.m. and got up and did it. My time was about 1:15 slower than the 10K I ran in early May, but with the sunny weather and erratic training, I'm not displeased with my time. I was 2 minutes faster than last year. I purposefully tried to start slowly and generally managed to maintain a fairly consistent pace throughout the race after the first mile. I'd love there to be a local 10K when the weather is cool, say early to mid-November or so.

Race

September 12, Saturday
7:00 a.m. CT
Warm up: .5 mile walk, .5 mile jog
Distance: 6.2 miles
Duration: 1:00:16
Pace ave: 9:44
HR ave 175, max 193
Cool down: .5 mile walk
@start: 64, 95%, sunny, calm
@end: 66, 91%, sunny, NNE@1 gusting to 8
Shoes: Green Pegasus 25

Mile 1: 10:03.9 153/166
Mile 2:  9:33.4 168/178
Mile 3:  9:37.3 177/180
Mile 4:  9:36.1 181/186
Mile 5:  9:54.9 183/186
Last 1.2: 11:33.3 187/193 [9:37 pace]

overall place:	402 out of 823
division place:	15 out of 44
gender place:	156 out of 503

Online Race Results

Food

My Food Diary on CalorieKing.com

Evansville YMCA 5K

Race

August 8, Saturday
7:00 a.m. CT
Warm up: ~1.1 miles
Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 28:41
Pace ave: 9:16
HR ave 180, max 192
Cool down: walked around ... maybe .25-.3 mile
@start: 72, 96%, sunny, calm
@end: 74, 95%, sunny, E@1
Shoes: Pegasus 25

I did the warm-up run with Becky K. Felt really good, back and all, but when the race started, my back was aching a bit. It wasn't near as bad as it has been, but it was a distraction I could have lived without. My breathing sucked today. Just couldn't seem to find a very good rhythm, and it just got worse as the run progressed. Weather was warm and very humid, which I'm assuming doesn't help matters any.

Anyway, I did the race roughly 1:21 faster than last year, which is progress. I hesitate to call this a PR because I don't really know how much too short the race in Oakland City was, but this was my fastest known-to-actually-be-a-full-5K 5K race! I was happy to keep a fairly consistent pace the first two miles, but need to figure out how to keep the pace up for the third. Being able to breathe would help! Really want to get in under 28:00 this year.

Time Pace HR Ave/Max
Mile 1: 9:06.0 9:06.0 171/182
Mile 2: 9:02.5 9:02.5 182/186
Mile 3.1: 10:31.7 9:34.0 185/192

378/836 overall place
15/47 division place F4549
153/521 sex place

Online Race Results

Harold Carey is still running strong at 85, or something like that, and finished in 30:42 with a 9:54 pace. Woot!

Food

My Food Diary on CalorieKing.com

Morning Stats

weight: 143.2
bf: 28%
pulse: n/a
bp: n/a
bg: n/a

Otter's Stadium 5K

After the race, I went to the Otter's game at Bosse Field. They were losing by quite a bit when I left at the top of the 9th. The weather was fabulous, almost a little chilly ... in July!

Race

July 19, Sunday
5:15 p.m. CT
Warm up: 15 minute slow jog
Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 28:58
Pace ave: 9:20
HR ave 174, max 187
@start: 75, 64%, mostly cloudy, calm
@end: 74, 69%, cloudy, WNW@3
Shoes: Green Pegasus 25

Wow, what a disappointment my time was this evening! I've never raced two days in a row and didn't know what to expect from my body. Plus, it was about 12 degrees warmed this evening that it was yesterday morning. The heat and I don't particularly get along all that well where running is concerned. My heart rate was pretty much the same as yesterday even though I was running quite a bit slower. To make it all seem even worse :-) today's course was a lot easier than yesterday's. Argh.

I checked the race times for a couple people who also ran yesterday just to see how theirs compared. I still think yesterday's race distance was a little short of 5k. In any event, I slowed down more than they did (and they are both older than I by a fair bit).

           Time     Pace
Robert
Yesterday: 22:49.3  7:21
Today:     23:46.0  7:39  4.1% slower

Jean
Yesterday: 24:59.3  8:03
Today:     26:21.4  8:29  5.4% slower

Me
Yesterday: 27:10.1  8:45
Today:     28:58.0  9:20  6.7% slower

Race Results

My watch time (which I used in my stats above) was about 8 seconds faster than the "official" time since it took a little while to cross the actual start line.

Oakland City Kiwanis 5K - PR!

I spent a chunk of this evening scanning in pictures that I used in a photo collage I put together for Granddad's funeral. Will post several online once I get them all scanned.

Workout

July 18, Saturday
8:00 a.m. CT
Warm up: ~1 mile slow jog
Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 27:10
Pace ave: 8:45
HR ave 173, max 189
@start: 62, 79%, cloudy, calm
@end: 63, 77%, cloudy, calm
Shoes: Green Pegasus 25

I did this race last year in 31:18. It was hotter (77), I wasn't in near as good condition, and it was my first race in 2008. I've done several races already this year. This course isn't exactly flat, so I'm happy to have improved so much over last year and to set a 5k PR! I don't know if this was a true 5K or not, tho. Last year they said something about it being a tad short.

This is a very small race, and it didn't have as many (proportionally) of the usual older (35+) runners in it. I was 2nd in my age group ... out of 2 :-) and 33rd out of 55 runners.

Race Results

I have another 5K tomorrow evening at Bosse Field in Evansville. It's part of the local running club's Grand Prix, so I hope it's not too warm and I have the legs left to do well.

Food

My Food Diary on CalorieKing.com

PR! Solarbron 10K

I'm heading to Florida this afternoon. Am looking forward to seeing Mike, again, and watching Atlantis lauch, and going to see Star Trek, and eating sushi, and going to the beach,. Should be a really nice week. I hope don't gain 5 pounds, though. My mindset hasn't been all that great lately where proper nutrition is concerned. I don't think eating a box of Cheez-Its in less than 24 hours is generally considered a good sign.

Race

May 9, Saturday
8:00 a.m. CT
Warm up: 12 mins slow jogging, ~1 mile
Distance: 6.2 miles
Duration: 59:02.6
Pace ave: 9:31
HR ave 171, max 181
Cool down: a bit of walking around
@start: 64, 90%, mostly cloudy, NW@7 gusts to 13
@end: 63, 72%, cloudy, WNW@9 gusts to 13
Shoes: Pegasus 25

The USATF site calls this course mostly flat. It's not the Rockies, but it sure as heck ain't flat! The site also shows the start & finish being at the same place. They weren't. The start line was quite a bit farther to the east. At any rate, I set a PR for 10K by about three minutes. Woohoo! I felt good, for the most part, but still seem to be struggling a little with breathing.

I placed 123/172 overall and 7/13 in my age group. I'd have placed 2nd in the 40-44 group (4 people in all) and 3rd in the 50-54 group (6 people in all). I'm in a large, tough bracket! Check out the race results.

Mile 1: 8:53 [162/174]
Mile 2: 9:35 [169/174]
Mile 3: 9:23 [170/174]
5K: 29:05.8
Mile 4: 9:44 [173/176]
Mile 5: 10:10 [173/178]
Mile 6.2: 9:21 [176/181]

Food

My Food Diary on CalorieKing.com

Morning Stats

weight: 152.0 [too many Cheez-Its, I guess]
bf: 29%
pulse: n/a
bp: n/a
bg: n/a

Bee Healthy 5K

Race

April 25, Saturday
8:00 a.m. CT
Warm up: .25 mile jog
Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 29:21
Pace ave: 9:28 [8:54, 9:52, 9:37 ... hmmmm]
HR ave 175, max 190
Cool down: some walking around
@start: 70, 66%, sunny, S@9 gusting to 14
@end: 73, 64%, sunny, SSW@8 gusting to 17
Shoes: Pegasus 25

Didn't do much of a warm-up today. Don't know that the shortness affected me negatively, tho. Cathy and Yvette were there, so it was nice to see and talk to them. Cathy finished about a minute ahead of me. Yvette came in around 36:00. Check out out the race results. Because it was a small race and most of the speedy people weren't there, I managed to place 1st in my age group (45-54). Of course, there were only 3 of us. :-) Still, it was nice to get a medal. Cathy took 2nd in her group (35-44). She'll be in my group this fall after her next birthday. Today, there were just 72 runners and walkers. I was 34th overall ... still in the middle.

The course is rolling, definitely harder than last weekend's race. It was pretty warm and windy, too. Breathing seemed a bit better. A wee bit. Can't wait for it to get back to normal. Am thinking the problem might very well be all the tree pollen in the air around here this time year, even though an allergy skin test last year didn't show any tree pollen problems. Why else would it get worse in late March into April?

Oh yeah. I found a penny before the race started. Found one on my run yesterday, too. I'd been a long while since that happened. Two cents is better than nothing!

Food

Had way too much sodium today. Most pre-packaged foods will do that to you ... the price of convenience.

My Food Diary on CalorieKing.com

Morning Stats

weight: 151.0
bf: 30%
pulse: n/a
bp: n/a
bg: n/a

Tri-Fest Habitat for Humanity 5K -- A PR!

Race

April 18, Saturday
9:00 a.m. CT
Warm up: some walking + 13:25 jogging
Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 29:03.1 [29:12.1 official clock time]
Pace ave: 9:22 [9:24]
HR ave 177, max 187
Cool down: wandered around for a while
@start: 64, 57%, sunny, N@1 gusts to 5
@end: 68, 50%, sunny, SSE@2 gusts to 7
Shoes: Pegasus 25

My primary goal was to get in under 30:00. Check. Wahoo! This was a PR by quite a bit, 1:15.

My breathing is still not quite right, but it seems to be getting better still. Aside from that, nothing hurts or aches except my calves that tried really hard to cramp when I was walking around after the race. They were fine during the race.

Check out the race results.

The age groups were shifted up by a year, so instead of being in the 45-49 group, I was in the 41-45 group. I placed 5/15 in that group. Would have been 6/13 if the groups were the normal way. I was 92/219 (including walkers) overall. I think I heard the announcer say there were 188 runners (or something like that).

It was a bit on the warm side, but it's an enjoyable course. Next race is another 5K in Boonville on the 25th.

Food

I ate the last of the junk (again) yesterday, so the house is now junk-free aside from some things like honey. Oh, and Diet Coke. At least there are no Peanut M&M's, no Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, no chips of any sort (just Triscuits). Since I feel better when I don't eat junk, it's stands to reason that I wouldn't eat junk. Sometimes, though, logic simply fails to have an impact.

My Food Diary on CalorieKing.com

Colon Screening for Life 2-Mile

Race

April 11
9:00 a.m. CT
Warm up: .25 mile walk + 15:54 jog (~1.5 miles, I think)
Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 18:03
Pace ave: 9:01.5
HR ave 174, max 185
Cool down: didn't do much other than wander around for a while
@start: 47, 68% sunny, NNE@9
Shoes: Pegasus 25

I forgot to stop my watch at the finish. At the mile mark, my watch indicated 8:44 when they had 9:00, so it took me ~15 seconds to get to the starting line (which was a rather confusing mess ... the announcer was asking us to move to the start line, but then the race started without the announcer announcing it ... odd ... wasn't really sure where the start line really was until after the race). At any rate, with 15 seconds off my official time, I came in under 18:00 which is way cool. And an average pace of ~8:54. Me! Majorly way cool. Progress. 4th out of 11 in my age group, 112/240 overall.

Check out the race results here.

Anyway, I'm happy with my performance today. I think I could have gone faster without dying, but it was pretty uncomfortable in a couple spots. My breathing seemed to be pretty good most of the time, although still not quite right.

I met two new people, both near my age, so it was a benefit on the social front, too. I should see at least one of them at the 5K in Boonville in two weeks. Neither are planning to run the Henderson 5K next weekend, tho.

Food

My Food Diary on CalorieKing.com

Morning Stats

weight: 153.6
bf: 31%
pulse: n/a
bp: n/a
bg: n/a

Rock to Victory Half Marathon

View my race results.

At the start of the race, I decided to stick with the 2:20 pace team since I wanted to finish somewhere in the 2:20-2:23 range. At four miles, I walked a couple minutes and sucked down some Gu. At the water stops, I tended to have longer than usual walks. I was having a hard time with the 10:16-ish pace they were running and slowly dropped back. The route between miles 7 and 9 is an out-and-back, so I could see where I was in relation to the pace team. I was easily a few minutes behind them. After another Gu packet somewhere in mile 7 (I think), I settled into a pace that felt okay to me. Once I got to mile 9, I felt better and managed to finish in a respectable time (for me, anyway).

The weather was great! Now, if I can just tie together great weather and good health (no head/chest colds with only sporadic training in the two weeks before the race), I ought to be able to set some more PR's and maybe even break 2 hours.

Race: Rock to Victory Half Marathon

March 15, Sunday
8:00 a.m. CT
Distance: 13.1 miles
Duration: 2:20:55
Pace ave: 10:45
HR ave 176, max 190
@6 am: 44/41, 96%, foggy, SE@5
@8 am: 46, 93%, cloudy, calm
@10 am: 49, 86%, cloudy, calm
Shoes: Pegasus 25

wunderground.com says calm at DAL, but there was definitely a light wind coming down the Katy Trail.

Will add mile splits later.

Dallas White Rock Half Marathon

Race Date: 14 December 2008

I started writing this entry a couple weeks ago a couple days after the race. I checked my past races times, and it turns out this was the 4th fastest (of 8). I mostly lump the middle 6 together.

Good grief! Such a less-than-stellar race. Why?

1. I hadn't run a step for two weeks.
2. I'd been sick for most of those two weeks with bronchitis (or something bronchitis-like) and still had a productive couch on race day.
3. It was a warm 66 degrees.
4. The winds were very strong, 29 mph with gusts to 39.

That's my list of excuses challenges, and I'm sticking to it. I ran all of the first 6 miles, and then inserted walking breaks of varying lengths. By the end, I was truly beat and was very achy. The next couple days proved to be very sore ones for my quads. Ow! No major blisters and my left ankle felt okay afterward, too. My left hip flexor was and still is achy. I sometimes wonder if it'll ever stop aching.

Race Summary

number of finishers: 5788
number of females: 3381
number of males: 2407
average time: 2:23:04

There were six of us from Indiana in the race.

Check out the race results.

My Stats

age: 44
overall place: 4116 out of 5788
division place: 260 out of 416
gender place: 2106 out of 3381
time: 2:33:34
pace: 11:43

Mile Splits

The marker for Mile 8 wasn't in the right place, so the times below for miles 8 & 9 are approximate since I had to take a guess as to where the actual lap split should occur.

Mile  Time    Lap Time   HR   Max  Avg  Min  Dist Pace
01. 0:11:25.2 0:11:25.2  171  172  156  102  1.0  11:25
02. 0:22:42.9 0:11:17.7  172  179  173  159  1.0  11:17
03. 0:33:18.5 0:10:35.6  181  181  177  170  1.0  10:35
04. 0:44:15.6 0:10:57.1  186  186  184  179  1.0  10:57
05. 0:55:53.6 0:11:38.0  186  190  187  182  1.0  11:38
06. 1:07:42.5 0:11:48.9  191  193  188  183  1.0  11:49
07. 1:20:56.2 0:13:13.7  176  191  178  170  1.0  13:13
08. 1:32:55.0 0:11:58.8  183  184  178  166  1.0  11:59
09. 1:43:59.3 0:11:04.3  182  188  183  176  1.0  11:04
10. 1:56:24.6 0:12:25.3  187  188  184  176  1.0  12:25
11. 2:07:47.2 0:11:22.6  184  187  178  165  1.0  11:22
12. 2:20:01.1 0:12:13.9  184  187  183  173  1.0  12:14
13. 2:32:32.0 0:12:30.9  188  190  183  173  1.0  12:31
14. 2:33:43.1 0:01:11.1  192  192  189  188  0.1  11:50

Possible Upcoming Races

In order to keep running consistently this winter, I need to register for a some races to provide the necessary motivation. Otherwise, I'll be couch potato-ing it until Spring. I think I want to do a full marathon in late April or May and 2 or 3 half marathons. Doing the Texas Half has about a 50-50 chance right now.

Were I to just pick today, I'd do the Texas Half, Big D half, Flying Pig half, and Calgary full. Calgary is at elevation (for a 500' elevation flatlander):  3400-3675' with most of the increase between miles 9 & 11 and most of the decrease between miles 19.5 & 21 with a little kick upwards near the end. The good thing is I can go out ahead of time and acclimate.

Early this past fall, I was seriously considering St. Louis for the full marathon. Had I kept up with the training in December, I'd most likely do it, but I don't think I can get properly prepared to do well by then. I can get prepared to finish, but I've already finished a full marathon & want to do better than last time. This is all assuming my ankle holds up.

The Texas Half, Saturday, February 7 [H]
Big D, Sunday, April 5 [H, F]
Go! St. Louis!, Sunday, April 19 [H, F]
Kentucky Derby Festival, Saturday, April 25 [H, F]
Country Music, Saturday, April 25 [H, F]
Flying Pig, Sunday, May 3 [H, F]
HSBC Calgary, Sunday, May 31 [H, F]

H = Half Marathon
F = Full Marathon

A Most Excellent Race

I set my alarm for 4:50 a.m. but woke up around 3:45 and never could get back to sleep. I finally got up about 4:30. I slept well, just not all that long, 5.5 hours or so. My gut cooperated, so by the time the race started, I felt pretty good.

When I got back home, after updating my blog entries, I finished watching Memoirs of a Geisha. I read the book a few years ago and enjoyed it quite a lot. I thought the movie was decent entertainment.

Workout

October 12
7:00 a.m. CT
Warm up: .2 mile walk
Distance: 13.1 miles
Duration: 2:15:57
Pace ave: 10:23
HR ave 168, max 185
Cool down: .5 mile walk
@start: 62, 93%, sunny, calm
@end: 71, 77%, sunny, E@7

Race Performance and Results

Food

Pre-race: 5:05 a.m. banana, black grapes, 1/2 oz amonds.

During race: 2 Strawberry-Banana Gu packets, 1 vanilla Clif Shots packet.

Post-race: 9:20 a.m. banana, Diet Coke.
Breakfast/Lunch: 10:30 a.m. big waffle, peanut butter, syrup, 2 fried eggs, crispy bacon, small slice of banana-nut cake stuff.
Afternoon Snacks: 3:30 p.m. blueberry peach oatmeal muffin, Diet Coke.
Supper: 7:30 p.m. mixed baby greens, red bell pepper, black grapes, 4 Kisses, Tootsie Roll.

Morning Stats

weight: forgot again
bf: n/a
pulse: n/a
bp: n/a
bg: n/a

Evansville Half Marathon Race - Tickled Pink!

Goodness gracious, great balls o' fire!

I set a PR by a long shot (over 15 minutes), missing my 'A' goal of 2:15 by only 57 seconds. Had I not stopped to use a port-o-potty around 8.5 miles, I might have hit it. Of course, the likelihood of hitting it wearing pee-soaked shorts would have been very high. Ugh. I'll pass on that.

It sure was warm today, too warm, but not nearly as bad a last year which was simply horrible. @start: 62, 93%, sunny, calm; @end: 71, 77%, sunny, winds E@7. The last 4 miles were pretty tough. I kept telling myself "just keep on moving" over and over and over and over again with an occasional "don't walk" or "it's ok to slow down, just don't walk" thrown in. My little mental cheer squad of Eddie, Dedra, George, and Gene were there, too, which helped a bit. I had a hot spot on the ball of my left foot, but thankfully a blister never formed. In fact, I managed to get through the race with no new blisters and no chafed spots. That's a first! My legs are pretty sore now, though. I didn't do the ice water soak when I got to my parent's house ... just a shower.

Pop was at the McDonald's around the 7.5 mile point to hand me a cold bottle of water. George & John didn't make it to the race & headed back to Chicago early. I took in a Gu or Clif Shots packet about every 35-45 minutes (3 total) & had a couple orange wedges. No Gatorade this time, just water. As much as I don't really like to carry water, it's a lot easier to drink out of a bottle on the run than a paper cup.

Harold Carey, the 85-year-old gent, ran again this year. He finished in 2:54:09. The oldest woman was 72-year-old Julie Lovins bringing it home in 3:06:12.

My time on this race moved me up into 10th place out of 32 in the series standings (the 5k, 10k, and half) for my age group.

Race Summary

number of finishers: 1928
number of females: 1033
number of males: 895
average time: 2:24:35

Check out the race results, age-group results, and series results.

My Stats

age: 44
overall place: 953 out of 1928
division place: 36 out of 125
gender place: 340 out of 1033
time: 2:15:57
pace: 10:23
5k time: 31:21
10k time: 1:03:07
15k time: 1:35:27

Mile Splits

Lap  Time       Lap Time    HR  Max  Avg  Min  Dist  Pace
01.  0:10:28.5  0:10:28.5  148  159  149  108  1.0  10:28
02.  0:20:37.7  0:10:09.2  152  170  160  148  1.0  10:09
03.  0:30:25.4  0:09:47.7  165  169  164  152  1.0   9:47
04.  0:40:31.8  0:10:06.4  167  176  168  162  1.0  10:06
05.  0:50:37.4  0:10:05.6  171  173  169  160  1.0  10:05
06.  1:00:36.7  0:09:59.3  169  175  171  165  1.0   9:59
07.  1:10:45.8  0:10:09.1  174  176  172  168  1.0  10:09
08.  1:21:00.3  0:10:14.5  175  177  172  165  1.0  10:14
09.  1:32:16.0  0:11:15.7  170  175  170  155  1.0  11:15*
10.  1:42:49.2  0:10:33.2  170  173  170  165  1.0  10:33
11.  1:53:41.8  0:10:52.6  174  176  172  167  1.0  10:52
12.  2:04:25.6  0:10:43.8  176  180  175  169  1.0  10:43
13.  2:15:58.2  0:11:32.6  185  185  177  174  1.1  10:29

* port-o-potty stop in this mile

Evansville YMCA 10k

Race Day

Pre-race: I slept really well last night & ate my regular breakfast of fruit and almonds around 6 a.m.

I picked up my race number today instead of going down yesterday afternoon to do it. 

The best bit is the weather: a good 15 degrees cooler than last year!

Post-race: I didn't set any a, b, or c goals for the race. As I was driving down, I figured doing the race in less than 1:05 would be good progress for me and would be achievable. My time last year in the horrid heat was 1:16:14, and I walked a lot. This year, I didn't walk except for about 15 paces at the second water stop.  My ankle didn't bother me at all during the race. The clouds started breaking up as the race started. It was warm at the end with all the sunshine, but it wasn't oppressive by any stretch of the imagination.

I came in 411 out of 757 at 1:02:16 which was a 10:02 pace. Woohoo! My watch time was 4 seconds faster. I'm pretty darn happy with the result, even though I know I can eventually do a lot better.

The top five female times in my age group (40-44) were from 47:03 to 50:53. Two of the women walkers beat me, though. Bummer. I also managed to finish faster than the 85 year old guy (1:08:07), again: way to go Harold!!  The oldest female runner today was 72 (1:25:12).

[Complete Results]

Time: 8:00 a.m.

Distance: 6.2 miles

Duration: 1:02:16

Pace: 10:02

Splits: 

Mile 1:    9:59.1
Mile 2:   10:08.9
Mile 3:    9:58.7
Mile 4:   10:12.6
Mile 5:   10:13.8
Last 1.2: 11:25.1 [9:30/mile pace]

HR: max 185, average 170.

@start: 65°F, 94%, mostly cloudy, N@1/gusts to 7 mph.

@end:   68°F, 88%, sunny, N@5/gusts to 8 mph.

They are also scoring the 5k & 10K (and Half) as a series. I'm 11 out of 25 in my age group for people signed up for the series and completing both races.

Food

Breakfast: 6:00 a.m. blueberries, black plum, banana, 1/2 oz almonds.

Post-race Chow: 10:00 a.m. 2 eggs over easy, crispy bacon, english muffin with butter & grape jelly, watermelon.

Morning Snack: n/a

Lunch: n/a

Afternoon Snack: 2:00 p.m. Rocky small cookie bar [UK thing]; 3:25 p.m. apple, 1/2 oz almonds.

Supper: 5:30 p.m. chips, queso, salsa; tacos al carbon, refried beans; large frozen margarita.

Evening Snack: 8:30 p.m. sundae with butter pecan ice cream, caramel topping, whipped cream, nuts.

Call me a glutton today!

Evansville YMCA 5k

Race Day

Pre-race: It seemed like I slept pretty well last night, about 7 1/2 hours, but I don't feel very energetic. I'd kind of rather like to just go back to sleep for a couple hours.

Forecast@6:30am for 8am: sunny, 76/79, 76%, NNW@4.

6:25 a.m. actual: sunny, 78/81, 88%, NW@7.

I decided to eat my normal breakfast before heading down to Evansville. This is a change from races past.

Post-race: Woohoo! I hit my 30:30 "b" goal for the race and set a PR! I'm a little surprised considering the heat & humidity which was worse than last year. I came in 409 out of 794 at 30:18 which is a 9:45 pace. Woohoo! I had to walk a short bit at the water stop as well as for a minute at about the 2.5 mile point. Bummer. Right at the end, the last 10 or 20 yards or so, some other woman was sprinting up to pass me. Well, I couldn't let that happen. I came in ahead of her, but they gave us the same time.  Oh yeah, my ankle. It didn't hurt at all. In fact, outside of the heat, I felt pretty darn good.

The top five female times in my age group were from 22:55 to 24:15. At least I beat all the walkers this year. I also came in faster than the 85 year old guy (31:43) who beat me last year in both the 5k & 10k. It's the small things. I hope I'm running when I'm 85. I'd win the age group then. Ha! The oldest female runner today was only 67.

Last year, my time was 31:50. Based on this race, getting under 30:00 shouldn't be too hard. I'll have to find another 5k to do. The YMCA 10k is September 6th, the half marathon October 12th. My long term goal for this distance is sub-24:00. I don't know if I'll be able to make that or not. Age is working against me.

Time: 8:00 a.m.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 30:18

Pace: 9:45

Splits: mile 1 - 9:29.7, mile 2 - 9:32.2, last 1.1 miles - 11:16 [about 10:24 for the 3rd mile].

HR: max 193, average 177. 

@start: 81°F(actual)/87°F (heat index), 82%, haze, NNW@7.

Here's a handy heat index calculator.

Food

Breakfast: blueberries, strawberries, banana, 1/2 oz almonds.

Post-race Chow: fruit salad - watermelon, cantaloupe, pears, grapes, peaches, strawberries, blackberries.

Morning Snack: Almond Joy (.6 oz bar).

Lunch: steamed summer squash & zucchini, corn on the cob, edamame, Almond Joy (.6 oz bar).

Afternoon Snack: Almond Joy (.6 oz bar).

Supper: Whole wheat pita stuffed with hummus, diced bell pepper & onion, mixed baby greens; carrots; celery.

Evening Snack: n/a

Calories for the day: 1448 -  66% carbohydrates, 11% protein, 23% fat.

Calcium: 561 mg

Sodium: 988 mg

Obviously, today is "as a reward for the race performance, eat Almond Joy without feeling guilty about it" day. Yes!

13th Annual Oakland City Kiwanis 5k Run/Walk

Race

Sheesh, it was hot and humid or at least it was for this heat and humidity averse individual. At the 8 a.m. race time, it was 76.8 °F, 77% humidity, sunny, winds SSW at 3.0 mph with gusts to 7.0 mph. I'd never run this race before (or even heard of it, for that matter). It's a small informal affair. The course has several small/rolling hills, nothing major. I wouldn't call the course flat, but it's not all that difficult either, even with the last hill toward the end when the sun is really beating on you. I needed to leave the house around 7-ish. When I woke up, I thought it was already 7:10, but that was only because I'd been dreaming. In actuality, it was 5:55. Debated not going, but my aunt talked me into it. I'm glad I went and will plan to run it next year, too.

After the race, I spoke with a woman named Lynn. She's right around my age & is a nurse in Paoli. She's selling her house & considering going back to Iraq for another tour. She's been home 6 months since her last tour there. She won our age group in 26:something. Although I thought I'd do this without walking, I did walk up most of the aforementioned hill. No good reason for it. Just did. :-( I think I'm afflicted with a lack of race confidence. I trudged in at 31:18. Last year, I did 31:50 at the Evansville YMCA 5k which is coming up again in two weeks. The announcer guy said the course was slightly short this year, but I don't know if that means 100 yards or 100 feet. Results now posted at TriStateRunner.com.

Farmer's Market

We have a farmers' market on Saturday mornings during the summer up on the courthouse square. I moseyed over around 10:30 and picked up some peppers, green beans, eggplant, cantaloup, squash, and zucchini, spreading my purchases over three booths. Ok, so there were only 4 or 5 booths in the first place.

Food

Breakfast: banana, clementine

Morning Snack: 1/2 oz almonds
Lunch: big salad - spinach, romaine, onion, red & green bell pepper, banana pepper, cauliflower, carrots, celery, tomato, blueberries, grapes, feta, goat cheese, bean sprouts, sunflower seeds, balsamic vinegar

Afternoon Snack: 6 Rainier cherries, lite yogurt
Supper: Health Valley 5 Bean Vegetable Soup, 2 oz black bean baked tortilla chips, pineapple salsa, 1 square Hershey's Cacao Reserve, 12 Rainier cherries, 5 Razzles