Half-Assed Runner

Archive for January, 2012

Runs: 12
Miles: 64.01
Races: 1 (6.21 miles)
Outdoors: 5 (35.82 miles)
Indoors: 2 (9.90 miles)
Treadmill: 5 (18.29 miles)
Longest: 11.54 miles

This has been the mildest winter (both temperature and snowfall) I’ve ever experienced in Minnesota.  Consequently, I was able to get in 5 outdoor runs during a month where bitter cold and shit tons of snow generally make this nearly impossible.  I was planning on doing a lot more indoor running and even some cross-country skiing, but the this “winter that wasn’t” lead me to getting outdoors more often than I ever have since I moved to Minnesota.

My 64 miles this month is more than I ran during the first three months of 2011…and only 4 miles less than my total for the first 4 months of 2011.

I started swimming (if you can call it that) as well.  I’m taking lessons, which will hopefully improve my form.  I’ve all but given up on completing a triathlon this year as it will probably take me a solid year of swimming to get comfortable enough to swim 400 yards in open water.  I do think that the cross training is helping a bit with my running.

I ran my first 10K and therefore got a PR at that distance.  No stops.  It’s weird.  Every time I try a new distance (4K, 5 mile, 10K, and 10 mile) I complete the race without stopping.  I have run a dozen 5Ks and only finished TWO without walking.  Meh.

I did get a minor “injury” on my last long run.  For the first time ever I tweaked my right hamstring.  I ran through it and after half a day with a minor limp, I was golden.

I feel good about where I’m at in my running.  I wanted to get some solid mileage in during December – February so that I could start training for the dozen half marathons I have planned this year.  10 miles is probably my maximum distance right now.  I should be able to ramp that up to 15 miles by the time I run my first half marathon in late April.

I don’t expect to put in as many miles in February (shorter month and winter *will* appear at some point).  I am going to shoot for 50 miles with at least one double digit run.

Packet Pickup/Expo

This is the 2nd Team Ortho race I’ve run.  The first was the Monster Dash 10 Mile race back in October.  While that race was awesome, I was less impressed with the packet pickup situation.  It was the first race I had run where the packet pickup was not on the day of the race and a combination of work, traffic, distance, and crowds made for a less than optimal experience.  I mentioned in the post race survey that multiple pickup days and/or the option to have your packet mailed would be great.  I would love to think that Team Ortho listened to me (highly doubtful) but for this event they had FOUR different packet pickup dates PLUS the option to have your packet mailed to you (the $19 charge seems excessive, but Team Ortho races include heavy swag and it’s still a great option for out of town runners).

I chose to pickup my packet on Thursday, 08 December as it worked out perfectly with my schedule (pick up packet and head to happy hour).  The new Team Ortho offices are in North Minneapolis so the trip was shorter than the jaunt to downtown Saint Paul for the Monster Dash.  I was greeted by a giant penguin (well…a woman in a penguin suit) and within a few minutes had picked up my packets for both the Polar Dash and the upcoming (March) Get Lucky race.  That was another great option, you could pick up everything for both races so you could completely skip packet pickup for the Get Lucky race.  After getting my bibs and timing chips, I headed downstairs to grab my race swag for the two events.

The warehouse area downstairs seemed much larger than the expo area at the hotel for the Monster Dash.  Volunteers were offering hot chocolate and cider and there was tons of gear for sale from each of the Team Ortho races.  Being that it was about 6 pm on a Thursday night (and the first of four pickup dates), the expo was far from crowded.  I nabbed my Polar Dash fleece and Get Lucky hoodie (which my wife quickly claimed as her own once I got home).  I looked for the orange and black tech shirts from the Monster Dash, but did not see them. I did see the cool black skeleton tech shirts from the Monster Dash 5K for $30 each.  A bit too rich for my blood.

I headed back to my car.  I had managed to get in and out with a bit of “shopping” in under 10 minutes.  Gone from the Monster Dash expo was the mandatory scanning of the timing chip and the line for a “beer bracelet”.  I was very impressed with the streamlined expo experience.

I got back to my car and realized that I had forgotten to drop off some children’s books.  Team Ortho was collecting books for “Runners for Reading” at the Minnesota Literacy Council.  My son donated some of his books and when I gave them to Team Ortho, they gave me two $5 gift certificates for the Team Ortho store.  I went back downstairs and nabbed the black Monster Dash tech t-shirt for $20.

Race Day – or – How I Ran A PR In Lady Pants

We stayed at a hotel in Minnetonka over New Years Eve.  We spent New Years Eve with my wife’s family.  Normally I would get blind drunk in order to make that hellish ordeal go by faster and erase it from my brain cells.  Since I was running 6 miles the next morning, I decided to limit myself to two glasses of wine.  I didn’t even bother with the wine (I knew I would not be able to limit myself) and spent the first New Years Eve of my adult life (other than one while in the Navy) completely sober.

While I did not drink, I did manage to stay up until 2:30 am.  My alarm went off at 7 am and I was already cursing my decision to run this race.  The weather was a concern.  We have been having an unusually warm winter in Minnesota.  We had a rare “brown Christmas” (no snow cover on Christmas Day) as well as temperatures well above the average and zero sub-zero days (we average about 8 such days in December alone).  It was over 40 degrees (briefly) on New Years Eve.  Then our winning streak ended.  Around 9 pm heavy snowflakes mixed with rain started to fall.  By midnight we had a few inches of wet, slippery slush covering the ground.  Driving back to the hotel in that sloppy mess was miserable.  By morning, it was colder and the slush had become an icy mess.  The local roads (and the hotel parking lot) were very slippery, but the freeways were dry as a bone thanks to the snow plows.

I brewed some coffee and took a long, hot shower.  My wife kept teasing me about running in this weather and I kept teasing her about nursing a hangover.  The race started at 10 am and the race parking (I had purchased a parking pass for $7 during race registration) was about 15 – 20 minutes from the hotel so I took my time getting ready.  I had packed three different tech shirts (2 long sleeved, one short), two water bottles, three pairs of socks, shorts, five types of racing fuel, etc.  I had over-packed per usual.  So imagine my horror when the one item I absolutely needed for the run was missing: my running pants.  I tore my bag and the hotel room apart looking for them.  The day before I had left home later than my wife expressly because I wanted to wear those pants and they needed to be washed first.  My other pants are all made from that slippery material that makes that annoying friction sound when I run.  These babies are soft, warm, and quiet.  I would later discover them sitting folded on my bed at home…somehow I missed moving them 6 inches into my gym bag.

I was pissed.  It was New Years Day, so nothing was going to be open where I could buy running pants. [This turned out to be completely untrue: Target and Walmart were both open…grrrr!].  I didn’t pack my “compression tights” from the Monster Dash (I couldn’t find them) so I couldn’t even pull off the shorts over tights outfit.  I was doomed.  I told my wife about the missing pants and then asked her if she had brought any sweat pants.  She had.  It was my only option.  My wife is 5’3″ and I’m 5’9 so I was looking at 6 inch “high water” pants.  My wife assured me that these pants were long in the leg, so I had some hope.  Thankfully were a gray color and the only feminine markings were pink lines around the waist area.  I tried them on and if I wore them really low on my waist they nearly covered my ankles.  Since I would be wearing a long shirt and running jacket, the pink piping would be covered.  Not only would wearing them low make them cover most of my ankles, but it was also a necessity because they were really tight in the groin area so wearing them low made them feel less truss-like.  I just hoped that it wouldn’t be obvious that I was sporting women’s sweat pants, but at that point I didn’t care much.

I left the hotel around 8:30 am.  I had initially planed to leave 45 minutes earlier as I was worried about the parking situation and I had flashbacks about the freeway exit traffic jam from the Monster Dash.  I had mapped a couple of routes in case of traffic and the pre-paid parking pass should mean a spot for me.  I needn’t have worried.  The roads were well plowed and there weren’t many cars this early on New Years Day.  Parking was a breeze and well organized (like all of this event).  I was parked and race ready by 8:50 am.  At that point I decided to stay in my warm car until the last minute rather than spending any more time than was necessary outdoors.  Around 9:30 I left the warm confines of my car and jumped on one of the many “yellow limos” (school buses) that transported you from the parking lots to the starting area.

There was a bit of confusion on the Polar Dash Facebook page about whether or not a shuttle ticket would be required for the buses.  It was stated that the parking pass doubled as your shuttle ticket.  I brought mine with me, but was never asked for it to board the shuttles.  I’m guessing that the combination of the obvious race bib and the fact that few spectators would be hopping the buses in this weather made the shuttle ticket a non-factor.  I had timed leaving my car perfectly.  By the time the bus ride ended and I had walked to the starting area, it was only 10 minutes before the start of the race.

The temperature at the start of the race was 27 degrees.  This was actually one degree warmer than it was at the start of the Monster Dash back in October.  While the course (all on roads) was 90% clear (there were some strips of frozen slush the plows missed) the sidewalk on the way to the “racing village” was slippery and I almost fell on my way there.  I made a mental note to be extra conscious of my footing during the race.

The worst bit of the weather was the wind.  There was a constant wind that chilled you to the bone, but it was the random bursts of up to 50 mph wind that made me want to die.  I was wearing gloves (a life saver) and knew that I would actually be very warm in my lady pants running outfit once I started running.  Waiting for the race to start and getting hit by the wind made for some very uncomfortable moments.  I broke down and wore a head band that covered my ears.  I hate hats and this is basically a hat with the top cut out, but it was simply too cold not to use it.  It doubled as a sweat band once I started running.

There seemed to be far fewer runners at this race than at the Monster Dash.  This made sense due to the weather and the non-appeal of running with a hangover.  There ended up being about 800 10K runners and 400 Half Marathon runners.  Throw in another 400 or so 5K runners and the race was around 1,600 participants.

There were pacers for the run (ranging from 6:52 to 13:44 minutes per mile).  I had planned to line up near the 10 minute per mile pacer (9:55 actually) and see if running with a pacing group was a good fit for me.  When I lined up I could see the 10:18 pacer ahead of me.  I couldn’t see the 9:55 pacer and really doubted whether I could move up in the mass of running humanity to reach her even if I had spotted her.

Just prior to the race the national anthem was sung.  During this a bald eagle flew over the runners.  2012 was starting out on a very patriotic note.  The race started on time and it took a couple of minutes to walk to the starting line.  I’m starting to get used to these types of crowded starts.  This one was actually pretty nice as I was able to start running as soon as I crossed the timing mats.

I decided to go without music for the first part of the run as I knew it would be crowded and I would need to keep distractions to a minimum to avoid obstacles (other runners ).  Since I run with music blasting nearly 100% of the time, it is interesting to hear the race sounds.  What’s not so awesome is the sound of my breathing when I don’t get a warm up jog in and it’s below freezing.

It took me quite awhile to get comfortable running.  The weather was a big component, but the mental game was more of a factor.  My legs felt heavy and I felt like I was running a faster than usual pace only to find that I was only running 10 minute miles according to Runmeter.  There were people starting to walk almost immediately.  Not a lot of them, but enough to make me think a quick walk break might be a good idea.  I finally hit my stride around the 2 mile mark and felt comfortable running.

My goal for this race was simple: finish.  This was my first 10K, so I was guaranteed a PR.  Six miles is still a long run for me and a distance that I’ve never run without walk breaks so I planned to take walk breaks.  I also knew that I would not be running very fast with the weather and the winter gear.

A funny thing happens during races: I run faster and longer than I do on solo “training” runs.  It could be any number of factors that contribute to this: excitement, competition, the course – but I’m pretty sure that it really comes down to being able to pace with other runners.  Once I hit a comfortable pace, I tend (consciously or not) to drop into a pace that matches nearby runners.  Today that was the case for most of the race, although I did find myself running by myself from mile 2 to the turnaround point as I somehow ended up between two groups of runners about 50 yards apart and I was running alone between them.  Maybe my lady pants were scaring runners away from me.

Regardless of the reason, I ended up running the entire 6.2 miles without stopping.  The first mile flew by.  When I got to mile 2 I decided to at least run the first 5K without stopping.  At the turn around, I felt good (I pulled off my headband/ear-warmer at that point) so I decided to try to make it to the 4.5 mile water stop without walking.  Once I reached that goal, I decided that I could suck it up and just run the entire race.  The only time I really felt the need for a break (other than the mental jousting during the first 2 miles) was around mile 5.  There were only a couple of minor hills on this course, but there was a pretty long one near mile 5.  I can’t say I powered through that sucker, but it took some effort coming that late in the race.  The downhill made up for the effort and I recovered pretty quickly so it was all systems go to finish this run sans walk breaks.

The course was familiar as it was a segment of the same course I ran for the Monster Dash back in October.  The course was on a road, so it was mostly ice/slush free.  It was an out and back course, so I started seeing the elite 10K and Half Marathon runners coming back when I was just past the 2 mile mark.  There was a set of timing mats at the turnaround so you ended up with a 5K split time as well as your 10K time (Half Marathon runners did two loops of the 10K course).  The 5K started 10 minutes after the 10K/Half Marathon started and it was an out and back as well.  I didn’t see many 5K runners except for the very slow ones and the walkers.  That led to some dodging at the end of the run, but it really wasn’t that bad.

There were 3 water stops along the 10K course (1.5 miles, 3.1 mile turnaround, and 4.5 mile).  There were multiple tables at each stop and they were spaced pretty far apart.  This made it easy to dip in and get water and was less crowded than having one long table.  The water stops at the turnaround had tables on both sides of the turnaround and were spaced so far apart that the distance between the first table (before the turnaround) and the last table (after the turnaround) that it almost made it seem like you got an extra water stop.  I nabbed a cup of blue stuff at the last table.  That would turn out to be the only water stop I would take.

I had brought along some Gu as well as Sport Beans.  I love the Sport Beans and appreciate the packaging that keeps them from getting moist, but those suckers are hard as hell to open with gloves on while running.  I popped in about 5 beans and that was the extent of my refueling during the run.  Of course, I had carbo-loaded like a mother in the form of tons of cheese and crackers, cookies, and wild rice soup the night before so I was in little danger of running out of energy.

My goal for the race was to finish.  I had set a secondary goal of running less than 10 minute miles.  I also entertained the thought of finishing in under an hour.  I didn’t do the math on that last one until I was 5 miles into the run.  The extra .21 miles would mean shaving 2 minutes and 10 seconds off of my 10 minute miles…which would mean about running nearly 9:30 minute miles.  Once I did the mental math on that I knew it was not going to happen as Runmeter was telling me that I was running just under 10 minute miles.

The wind that chilled me to the bone at the start of the race was a minor factor during the race.  I ended up pocketing my gloves and ear-warmers as well as unzipping my jacket during the race.  Right around the 5.5 mile point there was a prolonged gust of wind that made running into it difficult, but otherwise it wasn’t much of a factor.  I had to keep pulling down my lady pants during the run and the flared cut was a bit unmanly (although the tightness did make my thigh muscles “pop”), otherwise the pants worked out fine.

I saw the 6 mile marker and shortly after that I could see the finish line (and the penguin suited volunteers).  The runners were pretty well spaced out at that point so I could sprint if I chose.  I didn’t have it in me to full out sprint, but I did pick up the pace and picked off a couple of dozen runners.  I decided that I don’t care if this is a dick move or not, I’m running against myself so I’m going to run my race.  I was surprised to see the race clock show just over 1 hour.  Given the few minutes that it took for me to get to the starting line, I might have actually met my goal of finishing in less than an hour.  I stopped Runmeter and it showed that I had finished the race in under an hour.  The GPS was measuring long (which is normal as I don’t/can’t run the tangents and GPS is not accurate as we like to believe).  It turns out I ran a 9:30 pace over 6 miles.  That’s by far my best “long run” performance so far.

After the race there was a brief line to receive our medals.  While all runners got the same medal, the ribbons were different based on the distance (5K, 10K, and Half Marathon).  I picked up a post race food bag (fun size candy bar, string cheese, banana, and chips) and then skipped the water and nabbed a cup of hot chocolate.  Best idea ever!  The hot chocolate kept me warm as I waited for a bus back to the parking lot.  There were tons of buses and the line moved pretty quickly.  This is a good thing as the wind (which didn’t bother me much during the race) was blasting me and threatening to turn me from a sweaty runner into an icicle.

I had a great time and my lucky lady pants delivered a great run.  This was probably the best organized race I’ve ever participated in.  The multiple packet pickup dates, option to have your packet mailed, after race hot chocolate, excellent parking, tons of fast, warm buses, great volunteers (and cool penguin costumes), the course, the website and Facebook pages, the cool medal (and great ribbons)…on and on, it was a great race and very, very well organized.

Polar Dash 10K Course