Sunday, 8/7/2016: 18.7 miles, 3:03:03, 9:47 pace, 64F, 83% RH, 5 mph WSW wind, mostly sunny
You need to be able to run 20 miles in order to run a marathon according to everything that I have read. Well ... today I tried. And ... it wasn't pretty. I got up around 5:30 AM, had a banana for breakfast, geared up with my cobbled together hydration pack (around 1.5 liters) and stuffed it with 3 Gu's and 1 Munk Pack. I wore my Brooks shorts, a short sleeve tech and sunglasses. The sun was starting to be a problem. I headed out around 6:50 AM.
I had mapped out a 20 mile route using mapmyrun.com for 20.4 miles. Everything went well until I turned left as I exited the pedestrian bridge on the west side of the Genesee River which is just before mile 9. The route runs on a crushed stone or pavement around the river to Driving Park Ave. I just lost all gumption for a while. I had to stop for a minute to examine my right big toe because I thought my sock had a seam that was irritating it but I couldn't find anything. I think I have a mental block when it comes to contemplating running more that 13.1 road miles. Anyway, I lapsed into a walk for at least 1/4 mile then brought it back to a slow run up to Driving Park, turned around, headed back toward Bridge View Dr and Maplewood Dr as I headed north to Lake Ave. I slowed to a walk again when I got to Lake Ave and downed a chocolate Gu that I had trouble opening (and ended up eating a piece of plastic). I knew that I had at least 7 miles to go but just didn't care. I got up to a slow run, got down Lake Ave and headed down the Genesee Riverway Trail. I slowed to a walk again when I downed another Gu just before getting off the boardwalk. I knew I was getting closer. I got back up to Pattenwood Drive, headed down Lake Ave, down Beach Ave. I walked a bit, pushed it to a slow run, left onto Greenleaf Rd, into the complex, done.
Luckily, my wife, Christine, was awake. I think she had been stalking me from my eCrumb, link here. I got in, sat down on the steps, had some water and then collapsed on the couch. I asked for something to eat. Christine gave me chips and grapes which I put it in my mouth with both hands. I was almost delirious, my fingers tingled and I think I heard roaring in my ears. It was an interesting 15 minutes before I felt a bit better. I do believe that Christine was concerned.
What did I do wrong? I hydrated every 2 miles. It was very hot but was kind of humid. I had a Munk Pack at mile 8, a Gu at mile 11 and a Gu at mile 15. Did I not take in enough nutrition? Did I not have enough nutrition when I started? Is it a mental block to the distance? Should I drop down from the Rochester Full to the Rochester Half? I can do so with no penalty if I do it before August 30th.
Anyway, my splits were: 8:25, 8:27, 8:45, 9:04, 9:00, 8:51, 8:57, 9:04, 11:30, 10:31, 9:09, 10.31, 12:09, 8:49, 12:58, 9:48, 11:04, 9:52 and 8:50 over the last 0.7 mile. Looking at my splits ... I have more questions than answers at this point. I also don't know how this route was 18.7 instead of say 19.8 miles. The only thing that I cut out was doing the out and back to the lighthouse.
I took a while to recover with some coffee and some agonizing trips upstairs to the bathroom along with a shower. Eventually, Christine and I headed out to the Men's Warehouse down on Jefferson Rd in Henrietta to resume looking for a new suit. We found grey suit that was on clearance so we snatched it up along with 2 long sleeve shirts and a pair of black shoes. Sweet!
Meanwhile, lots of long races were going on ... people from the Rochester area ran the Green Lakes Endurance Run, 100K results here and 50K results here, and the Burning River out in OH, 50 mile results here and 100 mile results here. Some completed, some didn't complete these races ... but the attempt itself speaks to me.
Monday, 8/8/2016: Rest day ... moving on.
Tuesday, 8/9/2016: 9.5 miles, 1:23:36, 8:48 pace, 91F, 36% RH, 11 mph S wind, mostly cloudy (thankfully)
Garmin Connect Activity for More bridge from Herrema's
It was Tuesday and I know what I do on Tuesdays. I loaded my gear (95% of it) into the Equinox, changed after work, loaded my 20 oz water bottle with ice and headed to Herrema's for another go at my bridges routes that I have been running lately. It was hot but I try to be made of sterner stuff than the weather. I didn't have my SpiBelt to tuck my phone in so I improvised and used my AmphiPod. There were other cars parked by RiteAid where I started out from. I struck up a conversation with a woman who was headed out my way for a shorter run. She had already done 5K this morning ... kind of awesome. I had suspected that some of the other cars were "runner" cars.
So .. I headed out nice and easy. The stoplight at the intersection of Pattenwood Drive and Thomas Ave was out. Traffic was backed up all the way up the Thomas Ave hill. I settled into a really nice and easy pace. I took water every mile. I was 4 miles in out when I felt around my car key ... but it was nowhere to be found. What to do? Turn around and head back? Go forward? Call Christine? I chose to go forward. There wasn't anything I could do. I ran out of water for all intends and purposes by mile 6. I had just a thimble full left so I saved that in case I needed it. I did a walk / run when I had and got it done. As I was coming down the far side of the O'Rorke Bridge I could see that the stoplight was working and ... the Equinox was still there ... whew! When I got closer I could see that my key was still on the passenger door side roof where I had left it ... a double whew! I called Christine to meet me at the Greenleaf Meadows pool and headed home. The pool did feel nice!
I don't know if this workout did me any good but sometimes runs are just runs. I do them just because I can. My splits were: 8:36, 8:16, 8:45, 8:49, 8:38, 8:51, 8:48, 8:44, 10:11 and 7:58 over the last 0.5 mile. I did notice that I had an irritation on my belly where my AmphiPod had rubbed me.
Wednesday, 8/10/2016: Rest day ... needed but endured.
Thursday, 8/11/2016: 9.5 miles, 1:26:42, 9:07 pace, 86F, 62% RH, feels like 92F, 7 mph SSW wind, partly cloudy
Garmin Connect Activity for More bridges from Herrema's
Just like usual: pack my gear along with my hydration pack in the Equinox, dress after work, fill up with ice, drive to Herrema's, gear up and head out. It was not as hot but more humid. I struck up a really nice and easy pace and reminded myself to hydrate every mile. Well ... the humidity took a lot out of me so my pace suffered as a result. I got it done. My splits were: 8:56, 8:26, 8:51, 9:42, 9:15, 9:13, 9:29, 9:00, 9:51 and 8:00.
Friday, 8/12/2016: Rest day before 3 races in 5 days.
Saturday, 8/13/2016: 2 runs of 1.25 and 3.14 miles, 82F, 74% RH, 8 mph SW wind, feels like 88F, mostly cloudy.
Today's race was my fifth running of the Bergen 5K. My previous times are: 20:31 in 2011, 21:36 in 2013, 21:32 in 2014 and 21:30 in 2015. Today's conditions were hot and humid ... not great for a 5K but every runner had to run in it so it was all good.
I did the usual pre-race routine: get up around 6 AM, have a bowl of Cheerio's with banana, took the usual summertime gear, kissed Christine good-bye and headed out to Bergen. I arrived at 7:40 AM in plenty of time for the 8:30 AM start. I took Christine's Cruze since it got better gas mileage. I didn't have to say my name at the pre-race packet pickup. Andy Frank knew me and had my bib for me when I walked up ... thanks!
I saw Prem Kumar before the race. He went out for his pre-race warmup before I was ready. I got out for a really nice and easy warmup, 1.25 miles at 8:42 pace, link here. I was dripping after the warmup and knew that the race would be grueling but would be over quick. I toweled off a bit and walked off to the start. The Bergen 5K brings a very fast field so I lined up a bit farther back than I usually do but still off the right.
And ... we were off! This was the second year with the new course so I knew what to expect. It's basically an out and back with a large buttonhook at the end. I got up to speed pretty quickly. I hit the 1K mark at 4:10 ... way fast and to the 1 mile mark at 6:50. Then I got hot and slowed down. I felt like I was crawling. I tried to pour some water from an aid station on the way back on my head but I missed half my head. I stopped for a few seconds to drink some water at the next aid station. I knew the race would be over soon and wanted to kick it up a notch but had no energy. I cruised in to the finish to see the clock just under 23 minutes ... oh well. I was parched and got some water immediately along with a banana. I checked the online scoring at www.leonetiming.com and was amazed that I placed third in my age group.
Officially, I ran a 22:53, link here. I placed 3rd out of 10 in my M 55-59 age group. Omar Boulama won overall male in 15:06, Mark Andrews took the master male in 15:55. Hannah Davidson won overall female in 17:20. The first 91 were all under 20 minutes. I was 136th out of 269. I stuck around a bit before I hit the road.
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| My 3rd place age group award ... a plastic glass good for all occasions. |
Tomorrow is another race, my seventh Dam Good Trail Race down in Letchworth State Park ... always a "dam" good time!
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